Il 


The  Vatican 

Its  History— Its  Treasures 


Published  by 

Letters  and  Arts  Publishing  Co. 

New  York 


Copyright,  1914,  by 

Ernesto  Begni 

33^4- 


FOREWORD 

The  need  of  a  standard  work  on  the  Vatican,  as  the  great  centre 
of  ancient  and  modern  culture,  suggested  the  idea  of  the  pres- 
ent volume. 

The  first  step  of  the  Editors,  when  they  entered  upon  their 
task  over  two  years  ago,  was  to  secure  for  each  division  of  their 
subject  the  writer  who  was  peculiarly  fitted  above  all  others 
to  do  it  full  justice.  Their  next  care  was  to  arrange  with  these 
authors  for  the  illustration  of  all  those  important  features  of 
the  Vatican  which  arouse  the  interest  and  admiration  of  visi- 
tors to  Rome.  A  large  proportion  of  the  photographs  used 
were  taken  specially  for  the  present  work  with  the  permission 
of  the  Vatican  authorities,  and  not  a  few  are  of  objects  never 
before  photographed. 

The  large  number  and  inherent  value  of  these  illustrations 
give  a  unique  interest  to  the  present  volume.  The  names  of 
the  contributing  authors  are  a  sufficient  guarantee  as  to  the 
value  of  the  text. 

Having  entrusted  the  printing  of  this  book  to  The  De  Vinne 
Press — a  household  synonym  for  artistic  work — the  Editors 
hope  to  have  satisfied  the  most  exacting  expectation  of  beauti- 
ful book-making. 

October,  1914. 


CONTRIBUTING  AUTHORS 

COMMHNDAroiU-:  COIUiADO  iUCCI 

Diri'ct()r-(uMH-r;il  ol'  tlif  DipartiiuMil  of  Aiiticiuilics  and  Fiiu-  Arts  inidi  r 

the  Italian  Ciovcrniiuiil,  rdiincrly  Director  of  tlu'  Brera  in  Milan. 

COMMEND ATORE  OHAZIO  MAHUCCHI 

Archa>ol()f<ist  of  tlu>  Saorod  Palaces,  Diroclor  ol'  tlir  Vatican  Egyptian  Museum  and 

of  the  Lateran  Ciiristian  Mnscum,  Professor  of  Ciiristian  Arclia-ology 

at  the  University  of  Rome  and  at  the  Istituto  di  Propaganda. 

MONSIGXOR  PAUL  MARIA  BAUMGARTEN,  J.U.D.,  S.T.I). 

Member  of  the  Prussian  Historical  Institute  at  Rome,  Domestic  Prelate  to  the  Pope. 

DR.  FEDERICO  HERMANIN  DE  REICHENFELD 

Director  of  the  National  Gallery,  Rome. 

DR.  ALESSAXDRO  DELLA  SETA 

Professor  of  the  Royal  University  of  Genoa. 

DR.  LEANDRO  OZZOLA 

Inspector  of  the  Royal  Gallery  of  Ancient  Art  and  of  the 

National  Cabinet  of  Prints  at  Rome. 

DR.  ANTONIO  MUNOZ 

Royal  Inspector  of  Roman  Monuments,  Professor  of  the  History  of  Medieval  and 

Modern  Art  at  the  University  of  Rome. 

COMMENDATORE  LUIGI  CAVENAGHI 

Director  of  the  Vatican  Picture  Gallery,  Artistic  Director  of  the  Vatican  Museums, 

Member  of  tlie  Roman  Superior  Council  of  Fine  Arts,  Member  of  llu' 

Ambrosian  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  Academic  Councillor 

of  the  Royal  Academy  of  the  Brera. 

BARON  RODOLFO  KANZLER 
Director  of  the  Vatican  Christian  Museum. 

COMMENDATORE  BARTOLOMEO  NOGARA 

Director  of  the  Gregorian  Etruscan  and  Profane  Museums,  Member  of  the 

Arclueological  Connnission  of  Rome. 

DR.  UGO  MONNERET  DE  VILLARD 
Professor  of  the  Polytechnic  of  Milan. 

COMMENDATORE  CAMILLO  SERAFINl 

Director  of  the  Vatican  and  Capitoline  Numismatic  Collections,  Fellow  of  the 

Pontifical  Acatlemy  of  Arclueology. 

PROFESSOR  SALVATORE  NOBILl 
Director  of  the  Vatican  Mosaic  Factoi-y. 

E(hti)rs 
ERNESTO  BEGNI.  .F.I).  .lAMES  C.  GREY,  Ph.D..  B.C.I. 

THOMAS  .1.  KENNEDY.  R..\. 

cvi:i 


CONTENTS 

Part  I 
HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  VATICAN 
PALACES  AND  GARDENS 

PAGE 

History  and  General  Description  of  the  Vatican  Palaces    .         3 

By  PAUL  MARIA  BAUMGARTEN 

The  Vatican  Gardens 37 

By  UGO  MONNERET  DE  VH.LARD 

Part  II 
THE  STATE  APARTMENTS  AND  CHAPELS 

The  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V 51 

By  UGO  MONNERET  DE  VILLARD 

The  Sistine  Chapel 61 

By  FEDERICO  HERMANIN  DE  REICHENFELD 

The  Pauline  Chapel 101 

By  UGO  MONNERET  DE  VILLARD 

The  Appartamento  Borgia 107 

By  CORRADO  RICCI 

The  Stanze  of  Raphael 137 

By  ANTONIO  MUNOZ 

The  Loggie  of  Raphael 167 

By  ANTONIO  MUNOZ 

Part  HI 
THE  VATICAN  MUSEUMS  AND  COLLECTIONS  AND  THE 
MOSAIC  FACTORY 

The  New  Picture  Gallery 189 

By  LUIGI  CAVENAGHI 

The  Gallery  of  Tapestries 231 

By  LEANDRO  OZZOLA 

The  Egyptian  Museum 251 

By  ORAZIO  MARUCCHI 

C  vii  3 


Mil 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


The  Gregorian  Etruscan  Museum ^^'^l 

By  BARTOLOMEO  NOGARA 

The  Museum  of  Sculpture  and  Ancient  Paintings    ...     291 

By  ALESSANDRO  DELLA  SETA 

The  Gallery  of  Inscriptions «^81 

By   OHAZIO  MARlTCin 

The  Christian  Museum 399 

By  RODOLl-O  KANZLER 

The  Numismatic  Collection 421 

By  CAMH.LO  SERAFINI 

The  Hall  of  the  Geographical  Charts 425 

By  UGO  MONNERET  DE  VILLARD 

The  Vatican  Library 431 

By  PAIL  MARIA  BAUMGARTEN 

The  Vatican  Secret  Archives 473 

By  PAUL  MARL\  BAUMGARTEN 

The  Mosaic  Factory 499 

By  SALVATORE  NOBILI 

Part  IV 
THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 507 

By  PAUL  MARIA  BAUMGARTEN 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


HISTORY   AND   GENERAL   DESCRIPTION 
OP  THE  VATICAN  PALACES 

PAGE 

General  View  of  the  Vatican  Palaces 

and  Gardens 5 

Part  of  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro,  show- 
ing the  Vatican  Palace      ....  7 

Cortile  di  Belvedere 9 

Cortile  di  S.  Damaso 10 

Scala  Pia 10 

Scala  Nobile 10 

Bronze  Gate 11 

Section  of  the  Ceiling,  Sala  Concisloria  12 

Sala  Concistoria 12 

The  Decano 13 

Sala  Clementina 14 

Throne  Room 16 

Privy  Antechamber 16 

Sala  del  Tronetto 17 

Private  Library  of  the  Pope      ...  18 

Writing-table  of  Pope  Pius  X     .      .      .  19 

Scala  Regia 20 

Section  of  the  Ceiling,  Sala  Regia  .      .  22 

Section  of  a  Wall,  Sala  Regia     ...  22 

Sala  Regia 22 

Section  of  the  Ceiling,  Sala  Ducale       .  24 

Sala  Ducale 24 

Medieval   Gate  leading  to  the   Cortile 

del  Papagallo 25 

Cortile  delta  Pigna,  showing  the  Brac- 

cio  Nuovo 26 

General  View  of  the  Cortile  delta  Pigna  27 
Bas-relief  with  Warriors,  Cortile  delia 

Pigna 28 

Apotheosis  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina, 

Cortile  della  Pigna 29 

The  Pigna 30 

Tower  of  the  Four  Winds    ....  31 

Tunnel  leading  to  the  Vatican  Gardens  33 

Exit  of  Tunnel 33 

Private  Chapel  of  Pope  Pius  X       .      .  34 

THE  VATICAN  GARDENS 

Corner   of   the   Vatican   Gardens   and 

Cupola  of  St.  Peter's 38 

Torre  Leonina 39 

Grotto  of  Lourdes 40 

Chalet  and  Torre  Leonina    ....  40 

Casino  of  Leo  XIII 41 

Reception  Room  in  the  Casino  of 

Leo  XIII 42 

Sala  Rotonda  in  the  Torre  Leonina  43 


THE  VATICAN  GARDENS— Continued 

PAGE 

Bed-room  of  Leo  XIII  adjoining  the 

Torre  Leonina 44 

Courtyard  of  the  Casino  of  Pius  IV  45 

Loggia  or  Caffeaos  opposite  the 

Casino  of  Pius  IV 46 

Casino  of  Pius  IV 47 

THE  CHAPEL  OF  NICHOLAS  V 

Ceiling  of  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V 
(F"ra  Angelico) 52 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas  (Fra  Angelico)      .        53 

St.  Bonaventure  (Fra  Angelico)      .  53 

The  Ordination  of  St.  Stephen— St. 
Stephen  Distributes  Alms  (Fra  An- 
gelico)      53 

The  Sermon  of  St.  Steplien — St.  Ste- 
phen Disputes  with  the  Judges  (Fra 
Angelico) 54 

St.  Stephen  Dragged  out  of  Jerusalem 
—St.  Stephen  Stoned  to  Death  (Fra 
Angelico) 55 

St.  Laurence  Ordained  Deacon  (Fra 

Angelico) 56 

St.  Laurence  Entrusted  with  the  Treas- 
ures of  the  Church  (Fra  Angelico)   .        56 

St.  Laurence  Distributes  the  Treasures 
among  the  Poor  (Fra  Angelico)  .      .       57 

St.  Laurence  before  the  Emperor 

Decius  (Fra  Angelico)       ....        58 

The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Laurence  (Fra 
Angelico) 58 

THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 

General  View  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  62 

Moses  and  Sephorah  (Perugino  and 

Pinturicchio) 63 

Detail  from  Moses  and  Sephorah 

(Perugino  and  Pinturicchio)  .  .  64 
Moses  and  the  Daughters  of  Jethro 

(Botticelli) 65 

Detail  from  Moses  and  the  Daughters 

of  Jethro  (Botticelli) 65 

Details  from  the  Passage  of  the  Red 

Sea  (Rosselli  and  Pupils) ....  66 
The  Passage  of  the  Red  Sea  (Rosselli 

and  Pupils) 66 

The  Adoration  of  the  Golden  Calf 

(Rosselli) 67 

The    Punishment    of    Korah,    Dathan, 

Abiram  and  On    (Botticelli  and  Si- 

gnorelli) 68 

ix3 


X  LIST  OF 

THE  SISTINE  CHAPEI.— Ccmtiiuicd 

The  Testanu'iit  of  Moses  (SignoriUi)  . 
Dt'tnil  from  tlio  Ti'sl;\mi'nl  of  Moses 

(SiKiiorilli ) 

I)ct:iil  from  lliu  H:ii)tism  of  ("lirist 

(I'iiituricchio  :m(i  I'criiKino) 
The  Baptism   of  Clirist    (Pinturicchio 

and  I'erugino) 

The  Temptation  of  Christ  (Botficelli) 
Detail  from  the  Temptation  of  Christ 

(Botticelli) 

The  CalliiiM  of  Peter  and  Andrew 

(Domenico  (ihirlandaio)  .... 
Detail   from   the   Calling  of  Peter  and 

Andrew  (Domenico  (ihirlandaio)  . 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Rosselli)  . 
Detail  from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 

(Rosselli) 

Christ  Delivering  the  Keys  to  St.  Peter 

(Perugino) 

The  Last  Sui)per  (Hossclli)  .... 
Portrait  of  Michelangelo   (In  the  Last 

Judgment) 

Section  of  a  Wall  showing  Popes 

Lucius  and  Fabianus 

Caryatid  (Michelangelo)  .... 
Pope  St.  Stephen  I  (Botticelli)  .  .  . 
Pope  St.  Soterus  (Botticelli)  .  .  . 
Ceiling  of  the  Sistine  Chapel 

(Michelangelo) / 

The  Deluge  (Michelangelo)  .... 
Drunkenness  of  Noah  (Michelangelo)  . 
Tlie  Sacrifice  of  Noah  (Michelangelo) . 
The  Creation  of  Adam  (Michelangelo) 
The  Creation  of  Eve  (Michelangelo)  . 
Original  Sin  and  the  Expulsion   from 

Eden  (Michelangelo) 

The  Creation  of  Light  (Michelangelo) 
The  Creation  of  the  Sun  and  the  Moon 

(Michelangelo) 

The  Separation  of  the  Land  from  the 

Water   (.Michelangelo)        .... 
The  Prophet  Zcchariah (Michelangelo) 
The  Prophet  Joel   (Michelangelo)    .      . 
The  Delphic  Sibyl  (Michelangelo).      . 
The  Projihet  Isaiah  (Michelangelo) 
The  (^umiean  Sibyl    (Michelangelo) 
The  Persian  Sibyl  (Miclulaiigelo)   .      . 
The  I'rophet  Daniel   (Miclulangelo) 
The  Prophet  Jeremiah   (Michelangelo) 
The  Prophet  Ezekiel   (Michelangelo)    . 
The  Last  Judgment  (Mi<-helangelo) 
Figure  of  the  Redeemer  (Last 

Judgment) 

Croup    of    the    Blessed    around    Christ 

(Last  Judgment) 

Angels   Summming  the   Dead  to   Rise 
(Last  Judgment) 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  SISTINE  CHAPEI.— Continued 


P.\r,E 

68 

G9 

69 

70 
70 

71 

72 

72 
73 

73 

74 

75 

76 

77 
77 
77 
77 

8  79 
80 
81 
81 
82 
82 

83 
84 

84 

8.-) 
86 
8(i 
8() 
86 
87 
87 
87 
87 
88 
89 


Angels    Bearing    the    I-2niblems    of    the 

Passion   (Last  Judgment )  . 
Figures  of  the  Damned  (Last 

JudgToent) 

Candelabra    on    Balustrade    (Fifteenth 

Century) 

Side  View  of  the  Choir-loft   (Fifteenth 

Century)       

Balustrade    and    C^hoir-loft    (Fifteenth 

Century)       

The  Sistine  Cantoria,  or  Choir-loft 

(Fifteenth  Century) 

Portion   of  .Marble   Balustrade    (1481^ 

1483)        

Panels  of  the  Balustrade  (1481-1483). 

THE  PAULINE  CHAPEL 

The  Conversion  of  St.  Paul 

(Michelangelo) 

The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter 

(Michelangelo) 


00 
91 
92 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 

Hall  of  the  Mysteries  (Pinturicchio 

and  Pupils) 

David    Enthroned    (Pinturicchio    and 

Pupils) 

Door  in  the  Hall  of  the  Mysteries  . 
The   Annunciation    (Pinturicchio   and 

Pupils) 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pupils) 
The  Nativity  (Pinturicchio  and 

Pupils) 

The  Ascension   (Pinturicchio  and 

Pupils) 

The  (;oming  of  the  Holy  (ihost 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pupils) 
The  Assumption   (Pinturicchio  and 

Pupils) 

The  Resurrection   (Pinturicchio  and 

Pupils) 

Details  from  the  Resurrection 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pujiils) 
The  Madonna  and  Child  (Pinturicchio 

and   Pupils) 

The   Hall   of  the   Saints    (Pinturicchio 

and  Pupils) 

The  Visitation   (Pinturicchio  and 

Pupils) 

St.   Anthony   and   St.   Paul   the   Hermit 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pui)ils) 
Detail   from  St.  Anthony  and   St.  Paul 

the  Hermit  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils > 
Detail  from  the  Martyrdom  of  St. 

Sebastian  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils) 


93 

94 

95 

95 

95 

96- 

97 
98 


102 
103 

108 

109 
109 

110 

11(1 

111 

112 

113 

113 

114 

115 

116 

117 

118 

118 

119 

119 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


XI 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA— Continued 

PAGE 

The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  .  .  .  119 
St.  Susanna  and  tlie  Elders 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  .  .  .  120 
The  Flight  and  Martyrdom  of  St. 

Barbara  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  121 
Detail  from  the  Flight  and  Martyrdom 

of    St.    Barbara    (Pinturicchio    and 

Pupils) 122 

The  Disputa  of  St.  Catherine 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  ...  123 
Details  from  the  Disputa  of  St. 

Catherine  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  124 
Death  of  Osiris  (Pinturicchio  and 

Pupils) 125 

Detail  from  the  Ceiling  of  the  Hall  of 

the  Liberal  Arts   (Pinturicchio  and 

Pupils) 126 

Fireplace  in  the  Hall  of  the  Liberal 

Arts 126 

The  Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  .      .      126 

Grammar  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  .  127 
Geometry  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  .  128 
Dialectic  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  128 

Arithmetic  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  .  129 
Rhetoric  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  129 

ArchjEology  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  129 
Music  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)    .  129 

Detail  from  the  Ceiling  of  the  Hall  of 

the  Credo  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  130 
Astronomy  (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils) .  131 
Another  Hall  in  the  Appartamento 

Borgia 131 

Frieze  in  the  Hall  of  the  Saints 

(Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)  .  .  .  132 
The  Hall  of  the  Sibyls    (Pinturicchio 

and  Pupils) 133 

Frieze  showing  Portrait  of  Alexander 

VI   (Pinturicchio  and  Pupils)      .      .      134 

THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 

The   Hall   of  the   Signatura    (Raphael 

and  Pupils) 138 

Fortitude,  Prudence  and  Temperance 

(Raphael  and  Pupils) 139 

Theology  (Raphael  and  Pupils)      .  140 

Poetry  (Raphael  and  Pupils)  .  .  .  140 
The  Ceiling  in  the  Hall  of  the 

Signatura  (Raphael  and  Pupils) .  .  140 
Parnassus  (Raphael  and  Pupils)  .  .  141 
The   School   of  Athens    (Raphael   and 

Pupils) 142 

Detail   from  Parnassus    (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 143 


THE   STANZE   OF  RAPHAEL— Continued 

PAGE 

Philosopher  (Raphael  and  Pupils)  .  144 
Francesco  della  Rovere  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 144 

Raphael  and  Sodoma  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 144 

Plato  and  Aristotle  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 144 

Sts.  Bernard  and  Jerome  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 145 

Dante  Alighieri  (Raphael  and  Pupils)  145 
The  Disputa  del  Sacramento  (Raphael 

and  Pupils) 145 

The  Ceiling  in  the  Hall  of  Heliodorus 

(Raphael  and  Pupils) 146 

The  Hall  of  Heliodorus  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 147 

The  Mass  of  Bolsena  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 147 

Detail  from  the  Mass  of  Bolsena 

(Raphael  and  Pupils)  ....  148 
Detail  from  the  Mass  of  Bolsena 

(Raphael  and  Pupils)  ....  149 
Detail  from  the  Expulsion  of  Heliodo- 
rus from  the  Temple   (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 149 

Expulsion  of  Heliodorus  from  the 

Temple  (Raphael  and  Pupils)  .  .  149 
The  Meeting  of  St.  Leo  IV  and  Attila 

(Raphael  and  Pupils)  ....  150 
The  Freeing  of  St.  Peter  from  Prison 

(Raphael  and  Pupils)  ....  150 
Ancient  Mosaic  in  the  Centre  of  the 

Hall  of  Heliodorus 151 

The  Hall  of  the  Fire  in  the  Borgo  and 

Ceiling  (Raphael  and  Pupils)  .  .  152 
Details  from  the  Fire  in  the  Borgo 

(Raphael  and  Pupils) 153 

Detail  from  the  Fire  in  the  Borgo 

(Raphael  and  Pupils) 154 

The  Victory   of  St.   Leo   IV  over  the 

Saracens  at  Ostia  (Raphael  and  Pu- 
pils)          155 

The  Coronation  of  Charlemagne 

(Raphael  and  Pupils)  ....  156 
The  Hall  of  Constantine  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 157 

Ancient  Mosaic  discovered  near  the 

Scala  Santa 158 

The  Vision  of  Constantine  (Raphael 

and  Pupils) 159 

The  Battle  of  the  Milvian  Bridge 

(Raphael  and  Pupils) 160 

Detail  from  a  Door  in  the  Stanza 

(Giovanni  Barili) 161 

The  Chiaroscuri  Hall  with  Frescoes  by 

Giovanni  da  Udine  and  P.  Maratta  .  163 
The  Chiaroscuri  Hall 164 


XII 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Tin-:  I.OGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY— Continued 

PACE 


Door  U'luIiiiK  to  llif  Loggiu   (Sixtct'iitli 

Century)        

Loggia  of  RapIiai'I 

'I'iu'  l-"ii-st  Toil  of  Man   (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 

Lot    and    His    l''ainily    Leaving    Sodom 

(Raphael  and  Pupils) 

Another  Loggia 

Isaac  and  Rebecca  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 

Jacob  and  Rachel  (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 

Portion  of  a  Loggia 

Moses   saved    from   the   Nile    (Rapliael 

and   Pupils) 

Candelabra    in    the    Loggia    decorated 

by  Mantovani 

Detail  of  the  Ornaments  in  the 

Pilasters  (Raphael  and  Pupils)   . 
Decorations     showing     the     Arms     of 

Gregory    XIII    over    a    Door    in    the 

Loggie 

Candelabra    (Mascherini,  Sermonela 

and  Nogari) 

Moses  Presenting  the  Law  to  the 

People  (Raphael  and  Pupils) 
David  and  Bathsheba   (Raphael  and 

Pupils) 

Door  showing  the  Arms  of  Clement  VII 

(Sixteenth   Century) 

Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba 

(Rai)hael  and  Pupils) 

Door  showing  the  Arms  of  Gregory  XIII 

(Sixteentli  Century) 

The  Adoration   of  the   Magi    (Raphael 

and  Pupils) 

THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


168 
169 

170 

171 
172 

17:i 


174 
17.") 


176 
177 
177 

177 
177 
178 
17!) 
180 
181 
182 
183 


One  of  the  Halls  in  the  Old  Picture 

Gallery 100 

The  Ceiling  of  a  Hall  in  the  Old 

Picture  Gallery  (L.  B.  Albcrti)  .  .  191 
The  Hall  of  the  Trecento  or  Primitives  l'.)2 
The  Hall  of  the  Trecento  ....  1!)3 
The  Hall  of  the  Quattrocento,  or 

Melozzo  Hall l!).l 

The  Ma<lonna   and   Child,  with   Saints 

and  Angels   (I-"ra  Angelico)  Ifl") 

Episodes  from  the  Life  of  St.  Nicholas 

of  Bari  (Fra  .Vngelico)  ....  106 
The  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer 

(l-"rancesco  del  Cossa)  107 

The  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer 

(I'rancesco  del  Cossa)  ....  198 
The  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  I-"errer 

(I'rancesco  del  Cossa)       ....      190 


The  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  I'errer 

(Francesco  del  Cossa) 
St.  Jerome   (Leonardo  da  Vinci) 
Portrait  of  I'Yancesco  Sfor/a 

(Bernardino   de'   Conli)    . 
Head  of  St.  Jerome 

(Leonardo  da  Vinci)    .... 
Pope  Sixtus  IV  and  II  Platina 

(Melozzo  da  I'orli)       .... 
Details  from  Pope  Sixtus  IV  and 

II  Platina  (Melozzo  da  Forli) 
The  Hall  of  tlie  School  of  Umbria  and 

the  Marches        

Madonna  and  Child  (Francescuccio 

Ghissi) 

The  Camerino  Triptych  (Niccolo 

Alunno)         

The  Madonna  della  Spineta,  or  the 

Adoration  of  the  Magi   (Lo  Spagna) 
The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin 

(Pinturicchio)  

The  Virgin  of  the  Rota   (.\ntoniazzo 

Romano) 

The  Madonna   Enthroned  with   Saints 

(Perugino) 

The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin 

(Raphael) 

The  Madonna  of  Monteluce  (designed 

by   Raphael   and   painted   by   Giulio 

Romano  and   Penni) 

The  Annunciation    (Rai)hael) 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi   (Raphael) 

The  Presentation  in  the  Temple 

(Raphael) 

The  Madonna  of  F"oligno  (Raphael)    . 
Detail  from  the  Transfiguration 

(Raphael) 

The  Transfiguration   (Raphael) 
Madonna  and  Child   (Carlo  Crivelli)  . 

Pieta  (Carlo  Crivelli) 

The  Madonna  of  St.  Nicholas  dei  I'rari 

(Titian)         

St.  George  Slaying  the  Dragon   (Paris 

Bordone)       

Mary  Magdalen  Anointing  the  Dead 

Christ   (Montagna) 

The  Deposition    (Caravaggio)    . 
Detail    from    the    Last    Conununion    of 

St.  Jerome   (Domenichino)     . 
The    Last    Communion    of   SI.    Jerome 

(Domenichino) 

The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Laurence 

(Ribera) 

St.  Margaret  of  (^ortona  (II  Guercino) 
.\  Rest  during  the  Flight  into  Egypt 

(Baroccio) 


200 
201 

201 

202 

203 

201 
205 
206 
206 
207 
207 
208 
200 
210 


210 
211 
212 

213 
21-4 


21.') 
217 
218 
210 

220 

220 


222 
222 

223 

221 


oo 


;) 


226 
226 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Xlll 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY— Continued 

PAGE 

The  Espousals  of  St.  Catherine 

(Murillo) 227 

THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


The  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes 
(Designed  by  Raphael)      .... 

Detail  from  the  Horizontal  Frieze  of 
the  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes 
(Designed  by  Raphael)     .... 

"Feed  my  Sheep"  (Designed  by 

Raphael) 

Detail  from  the  Lateral  Frieze  of  St. 
Paul  before  the  .\reopagus  (De- 
signed by  Raphael) 

Detail  from  the  Lateral  l*"rieze  of  "Feed 
my  Sheep"  (Designed  by  Raphael)  . 

The  Healing  of  the  Lame  Man  (De- 
signed by  Raphael) 

The  Death  of  Ananias  (Designed  by 
Raphael) 

The  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen  (Designed 
by  Raphael) 

The  Conversion  of  St.  Paul  (Designed 
by  Raphael) 

Elymas  Stricken  with  Blindness 

(Designed  by  Raphael)     .... 

The  Sacrifice  of  Lystra  (Designed  by 
Raphael) 

St.  Paul  in  Prison  (Designed  by 

Raphael) 

St.  Paul  before  the  Areopagus 

(Designed   by  Raphael)    .... 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi  (Designed 
by  Raphael  and  Pupils)    .... 

The  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds 

(Designed  by  Raphael  and  Pupils)  . 

The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents 

(Designed  by  Raphael  and  Pupils)   . 

The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents.  Two 
Sections  (Designed  by  Raphael  and 
Pupils) 

The  Apparition  of  Christ  to  the  Mag- 
dalen (Designed  by  Raphael  and  Pu- 
pils)          

The  Supper  at  Emmaus  (Designed  by 
Raphael  and  Pupils) 

The  Resurrection  (Designed  by 

Raphael  and  Pupils) 

The  Presentation  in  the  Temple 

(Designed  by  Raphael  and  Pupils)   . 

The  Ascension  (Designed  by  Raphael 
and  Pupils) 

The  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost 

(Designed  by  Raphael  and  Pupils)  . 

The  Three  Virtues  (Designed  by 
Raphael  and  Pupils) 


232 


233 

233 


234 
234 
235 
230 
237 
238 
23!) 
240 
241 
242 
243 
243 
244 

245 

245 
245 
246 
246 
247 
247 
248 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 

P.\CB 

Red  Granite  Statue  of  Ptolemy  II 

Philadclphus  (285-247  is.c.)  ...  253 
Statue   of   Arsinoe,   Wife   of  Ptolemy 

Philadclphus 254 

Statue  of  an  Unknown  Princess      .  257 

Statue  of  Queen  Tuaa  (Fourteenth 

Century  h.c.) 258 

Sandstone  Head  of  Mentuhotep  (Elev- 
enth   Dynasty;    between    3000    and 

2000  B.C.) 259 

Statue  of  Seti  I  (1366-1333  B.C.)  .  .  260 
Green  Basalt  Statue  of  the  Priest 

Ut-a-hor-resent  (Sixth  Century  B.C.)  261 
Naophorus,  or  Shrine-bearing  Statue  .  262 
Naophorus,  showing  the  Carved  Figure 

of  Osiris 263 

Opisthographic  Sandstone  Stele 

(Fourteenth  Century  B.C.)  .  .  .  264 
Mummy    Cover    (Third    Century   after 

Christ) 266 

Table  of  Offerings  (Eighteenth 

Dynasty) 267 

Funeral  Carving  of  Nineteenth 

Dynasty  (Fourteenth  Century  b.c.)  .  268 
Funeral  Stele  of  Apa  (Sixth  Dynasty; 

Twenty-sixth  Century  h.c.)    .  270 

Stele  of  Hori  (Eighteenth  Century  B.C.)  271 
Hieratic  Papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the 


Dead,"  belonging  to  Neskem 


272-273 


Statue  of  Antinous,  or  the  "Egyptian 
Apollo" 275 

Princess  holding  a  Table  of  Offerings, 
and  two  Canopic  Vases    ....      276 

Lion  from  the  Monument  of  Nectanebo 
II,  last  of  the  Pharaohs  (Fourth  Cen- 
tury B.C.) 278 

THE  GREGORIAN  ETRUSCAN  MUSEUM 

Objects  found  in  the  Regolini-Galassi 
Tomb  (Seventh  Century  B.C.)      .      .      282 

Golden  Armlet  from  the  Regolini- 
Galassi  Tomb 283 

Golden  Rere-piece  from  the  Regolini- 
Galassi  Tomb 284 

Amphora  made  by  Exechias   (Sixth 

Century  B.C.) 285 

Amphora  with  Full-length  Figure  of 
Achilles         285 

The  Vulci  Bowl,  showing  Hermes, 

Dionysus,  Silenus  and  Nymphs  .      .      286 

Terra-cotta  Objects,  including  Frieze 
in  Bold  Relief 286 

Bronze  Statuettes  of  Boys  with  Bullae 
and  Inscriptions 287 

Statue  of  Mars 288 


XIV 


LIST  01-  ILLUSTHATIOXS 


THE  MUSHIM   OF  SCrLI'TlHI':   AM) 
ANCIKNT  I'AlNTl.N'dS 

PAGE 

The  Gallfry  of  Statues 292 

The  Gallery  of  Statues 293 

Tlie  ("lallery  of  Statues 294 

Tlie  Sala  della  Hotonda 295 

The  Hall  of  the  Creek  Cross        .       .       .  290 

Portico  of  the  (tortile  Oltagouo       .      .  297 

The  Cortile  Otiagono 1^98 

The  Hall  of  the  Muses 299 

The  Hall  of  the  Animals       ....  :i(Ml 

The  Hall  of  the  Animals       ....  liUl 

The  Gallery  of  the  Candelabra  .       .      .  302 

The  Gallery  of  the  Candelabra  .      .      .  303 

The  Gallery  of  the  Candelabra  ...  304 

The  Museo  Chiaranionti        ....  305 

Part  of  the  Braecio  Nuovo  .  '    .      .      .  300 

Part  of  the  Braecio  Nuovo   ....  307 

The  Braecio  Xuovo 308 

One  End  of  the  Braecio  Nuovo       .      .  309 

Part  of  the  Braecio  Nuovo  ....  310 
Seated  Apollo  Citliar.Tdus  (Archaic 

Period) 311 

Nude  Figure  of  Apollo  (Archaic 

Period) 311 

The  Three  Graces  (Archaic  Periotl)    .  312 

Girl  Runner  (Archaic  Period)   ...  313 

Penelope   (Archaic  Period) .      .      .      .  313 
Young  Gymnast  and  his  Slave  (Archaic 

Period) 313 

Discobolus  (Myron,  Classical  Period).  313 
Doryphorus  (Polycletus,  Classical 

Period) 314 

.Amazon   (Polycletus,  Classical  Period)  314 

Amazon   (Cresilas,  Classical  Period)  315 

Amazon  (Phidias,  Classical  Period)     .  315 

Pericles  (Cresilas,  Classical  Period)  31(5 
Demeter  (School  of  Phidias,  Classical 

Period) 317 

.\rleinis    (School   of  Phidias,  Classical 

Period) 317 

Caryatid   (School  of  Phidias,  Classical 

Period) 317 

Athena    (School    of   I'iiidias,   Classical 

Period) 317 

Discobolus   Preparing    for   the   Throw 

(Classical   Period) 318 

Boeotian  Belief  of  Ilorsiinaii   (Classical 

Period) 319 

Harberini  Hera  (l"ourth  Century  n.c.)  .  320 
.\phrodite  of  Cnidiis   (Praxiteles, 

Fourth  (A-ntury  B.C.) 320 

Apollo  Sauroctonus  (Praxiteles, 

Fourth  Century  b.c.) 320 

Torso  of  an   Eros   (Praxitelic  School, 

I'ourth  Century  n.c.) 320 

Antinf)us  del   Belvedere   (Praxitelic 

School,  I'ourth  (>entury  ii.c.)        .      .  322 


THE  Mrsi;i  M  OF  SCULPTLBE  AND 

ANCIENT  PAINTINGS-Continued 

PAGE 

Apollo    del    Belvedere    (Eeochares[?], 

Fourth  Century  ii.c.) 323 

Ai)ollo  (^itharu'dus   (I'Ourlh 

Century  n.c.) 324 

Meljjomene,  Muse  of  Tragedy   (F'oiirtli 

Century  n.c.) 325 

Thalia,  Muse  of  Comedy  (P'ourtli 

Century  li.c.) 325 

,\rtemis  (Fourth  Century  h.c.)   .      .  320 

Zeus  of  Otricoli  (Fourth  (Century  n.c.)  327 
Meleager  (Scopas[?],  Fourth 

Century  n.c.) 328 

Headless  Statue  of  a  Niobid  (I'ourth 

Century   n.c.) 328 

Ganymede  Carried  up  by  the  I-:agle 

(Fourth  Century  n.c.)  ....  329 
Apoxyomenus  (Lysippus,  I'ourth 

Century  b.c.) 329 

Crouching  Figure  of  Aphrr)dite 

(I)a'dalus[?i,  Hellenistic  Period)  .  329 
Jupiter    Serapis    (Bryaxis,    Hellenistic 

Period) 329 

Personification  of  Antiochia 

(Eutychides,  Hellenistic  Period)  .  330 
The  Nile  (Alexandrian  School, 

Hellenistic  Period) 331 

Marine  Centaur  (Hellenistic  Period)  .  332 
Centaur  or  Triton   (School  of 

Pergamos,  Hellenistic  Period)  .  .  333 
Centaur    Crowned    with    Vine    Leaves 

(Hellenistic   Period) 333 

Silcnus  with  Infant  Dionysus 

(Hellenistic   Period) 334 

Young      Satyr      Carrying       Dionysus 

(School     of     Lysippus,     Ilcllcnislic 

Period) 334 

I''aun  in  rosso  antico   (Hellenistic 

Period) 335 

336 
336 
337 
338 
339 

341 


Ma-nad  (Hellenistic  Period) 
l-'ugitive  Niobid  (Hellenistic  Period) 
Ulysses   (Hellenistic  Period) 
Ariadne    (Helleiiislic   Period)    . 
.Menelaus  (Hellenistic  Period)    . 
I.aocoon     (Agesander,    Polydorus    and 

Athenodorus,  Hellenistic   Period) 
Torso    del    Belvedere    (.\pollonius' ?  , 

Hellenistic  Period! 343 

I-'isherman    (Hellenistic  Period)  344 

Demosthenes    (Polyeuclus,    Hellenistic 

Period) 314 

Semo  Sancus  (Gra-co-Roman  Period)   .      345 
Juno  Sospes  Lanuvina    (GraM-o-Romaii 

Period) 3(5 

Sacrifice  of  Mithra   (Graco-Ronian 

Period) 347 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


XV 


THE  MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AM) 
ANCIENT  PAINTINGS— Continued 

PAGE 

Isiac  Procession  (Gra;co-Roman 

Period) 348 

Procession    of   Sacrificers   to   Artemis 

(Painting,  Gra>co-Ronian  Period)  .  349 
Charioteer  (Gra-co-Roman  Period)  .  350 
Pasipiiae  (Painting,  Gra-co-Roman 

Period) 351 

Nozze  Aldobrandini  (Painting,  Grseco- 

Roman   Period) 352 

Detail  from  the  Nozze  Aldobrandini  .  353 
Detail  from  the  Nozze  Aldobrandini  .  354 
Detail  from  the  Nozze  Aldobrandini  .  355 
Head  of  Athena   (Mosaic,  Grseco- 

Roman   Period) 350 

Sarcophagus  showing  the  Slaughter  of 

the  Niobids  (Gr.-cco-Roman  Period)  357 
Augustus  (Grseco-Roman  Period)  .  .  358 
Caius,   Nephew   of   Augustus    (Grseco- 

Roman  Period) 359 

Claudius  (Grseco-Roman  Period)    .  361 

Titus   (Graeco-Roman  Period)    .  361 

Julia  ['?]  (Grseco-Roman  Period)  .  .  363 
Hadrian    (Grseco-Roman  Period)    .  363 

Faustina  the  Elder  (Graco-Romau 

Period) 363 

Venus  Empress  (Grreco-Roman 

Period) 303 

The  Antinous  Braschi    (Groeco-Roman 

Period) 364 

Head  of  Dacus  (Grseco-Roman  Period)      364 
Sepulchral    Tablet    of    Lucius    Vibius 
and  his  Wife  and  Son    (Grseco-Ro- 
man Period) 366 

Bas-relief  from  the  Ara  Pacis  Augustse 

(Graeco-Roman  Period)  ....  369 
Honorary  Relief  showing  the   Figure 

of  Rome  (Grteco-Roman  Period)      .      371 
Sarcophagus    depicting   the    Triumph 
of  some  General  (Grseco-Roman  Pe- 
riod)         372 

Painting  from  the  Tomb  of  Farnaces 

(Grseco-Roman   Period)    ....      373 
Sarcophagus  of  St.  Helena  (Grseco- 
Roman  Period) 375 

Sarcophagus  of  St.  Constantia 

(Grseco-Roman   Period)    ....      377 

THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS 

Inscription  found  near  the  Site  of  the 

Ancient  Temple  of  Mars  ....  382 
Inscription   in   Hexameter  Verse  with 

Letters  in  Relief 383 

Procope's  Protest  against  her  Early 

Death 384 

Fragment  of  Column  giving  the  Names 

and  Numbers  of  Roman  Legions      .     385 


GALLERY   OF   INSCRIPTIONS— Continued 

PAGE 

Inscription  giving  the  Names  and 

Birthplaces  of  Soldiers  ....  386 
Stele   of  Titus   Flavins  Julius    (Eqiies 

singitlaris) 388 

Tablet   erected   in    Honor   of   .\nicius 

Auchenius  Bassus 390 

Pedestal  of  Statue  of  Postumius 

Julianus 393 

Fragment  of  Inscription  from  the 

Temple  of  Trajan 394 

Arvalian  Fragment,  with  Restorations 

(239  A.D.) 396 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 

Entrance  to  the  Christian  Museum  400 

Interior  of  the  Christian  Museum  .  401 

F'rench  Cross  of  Silver  Gilt  (Four- 
teenth and  Fifteenth  Centuries)  402 

French  Cross  of  Silver  Gilt  (Back) 
(Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Centu- 
ries)          402 

Italian  Cross  of  Bronze  Gilt  (Fifteenth 

Century) 402 

Crosses  of  Wood,  Metal  and  Enamel 
(Sixteenth  Century?)         ....     402 

Enamel  Triptych  from  Limoges,  with 
Scenes  from  the  Passion  (Jean  Peni- 
caud.  Sixteenth  Century)        .      .      .      403 

Byzantine  Triptych  with  Christ,  the 
Virgin  and  Saints  (circa  1000)   .      .     403 

Bronze  Medallion  with  Portraits  of 

Sts.  Peter  and  Paul  (Third  Century)      404 

Italian  and  German  Silver  Chalices 

and  Paten  (Fifteenth  Century)   .      .      405 

Silver  Capsella  found  at  Carthage 

(Sixth  Century) 405 

Polychrome  Greek  Triptych,  witli  Ma- 
donna and  Child  and  Scenes  from 
the  Life  of  the  Virgin       ....     406 

Enamelled  Gold  Cross  with  Scenes 
from  the  Life  of  Christ  (Sixth  or 
Seventh  Century) 407 

French  Diptych  with  Scenes  from  the 
Life  of  Christ  (Fourteenth  Century)      407 

Cemetery  Glass,  representing  St.  Peter 
as  Moses  Striking  the  Rock  (Fourth 
Century) 408 

Reliquary  Casket  with  Painted  Figure 
of  St.  John  Chrysostom  (Eleventh 
Century) 409 

Bronze  Reliquary  showing  the  Cruci- 
fixion  (Eleventh  Century)      ...      409 

Silver  Reliquary  in  which  the  Head  of 
St.  Praxedes  was  preserved  (Tenth 
Century) 410 


XVI 


LIST  01'  ILLUSTHATIOXS 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEl'M— Continued 

PAGE 

Reliquary  Casket  (sliowin^!  C.lii-ist,  Vir- 
gin and  Saints)  and  (^ovit  (showing 
the  (j-urilixion)    (Eleventh  ("enliiry)       11(1 

Reliijuary  Capsella*  (Sixth  and 

Eleventli    (k^ntiiries) -Ill 

I'ragnient  of  Clotli  dating  from  the 

Pre-(>arolingian   Epoch      ....      412 

Ivory  Cover  of  the  Eor.sch  Evangeliary 

(Ninth   Century) 413 

Silver  Meli(iuary  with  luigraved 

I-"igures l\'.\ 

Erench  Diptych  with  Scenes  from  the 
New  Testament  (Eourteenth  (Cen- 
tury)          414 

The  Hambona  Diptych  (Eighth 

Century) 414 

Eragment  of  Silk  Material   (Seventh 

Century) 415 

Armor  of  Pope  Julius  II,  which  he  is 
said  to  liave  worn  at  the  Capture  of 
Bologna  in  1506 41G 

Armor  of  the  Connetable  de  Bourbon, 
who  fell  during  the  Siege  of  Rome 
in   1525 410 

Tablet  showing  the  Man  Born  Blind 
and  Capsella  with  Bacchic  Scene 
(Sixth  and  Third  Centuries)        .       .      417 

Upper  Surface  of  Engraved  Silver 

Heliciuary  Casket   (Ninth  Century)   .      417 

Tablet  showing  the  Madonna  and 

Saints    (Sixteenth  (A'Utury)    .  417 

Side  View  of  Engraved  Silver 

Reliciuary  Casket  (Ninth  Century)    .      418 

Byzantine  Triptych  with  Cross,  Orna- 
ments and  Saints  (Tenth  Century)   .      418 

THE  XCMISMATIC  COLLECTKXN 
Ancient  Papal  Coins 423 

THE  HALL  OE  Till-;  (lEOGRAPIHCAL 
CHARTS 

The  Hall  of  tlie  Geographical  Charts  .      427 

THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 

The  Vatican   Library   (I).  Eonlana, 

Architect) 433 

Left  Wing  of  the  Vatican  Library  .  434 

.\notlier  View  of  the  Vatican  Library  .  435 
Painting  of  Pope  Sixtus  \'   approving 

the  Plan  of  tlie  New  Library  .  .  437 
Creek  Manuscri|)l  of  the  Bible  (Fourth 

Century) 43!) 

Manuscrijjt  of  Virgil  (Filth  Century)  .  441 
livangeliary   with   Glorious  Miniatures 

(Seventh   Eighth  Century)      .      .      .      443 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY— Continued 

PAGE 

Palimpsest  showing  Page  of  Cicero's 
lost  "De  republica"  (I'ourlh  Cen- 
tury)          443 

Psalter  with  Glosses,  Liturgical  Pray- 
ers and  a  Tract  of  Boetius  (Ninth- 
Tenth  Century) 444 

Manuscript  of  Terence's  Comedies 

(Tenth  Century) 445 

Silver  Binding  of  the  Evangeliary  of 
S.  Maria  in  Via  Lata  (Eleventli  Cen- 
tury)          447 

Polyglot  Psalter  (Thirteenth  Century)      449 

Breviary  of  King  Matthias  Corviiuis  of 
Hungary   (Fifteenth  Century)      .      .      450 

Another  Page  of  the  Breviary  of  King 
Matthias  Corvinus  of  Hungary  (Fif- 
teenth  Century) 451 

Map  on  which  Pope  .Alexander  VI 
(1492-1503)  marked  the  Boundary 
between  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
Discoveries  in   America    ....      453 

Map  of  Europe  of  the  Year  150(1  454 

Manuscript  Letter  of  King  Henry  VIH 
of  England  to  Anne  Boleyn  .  457 

Petition  for  the  Loan  of  some  Manu- 
scripts from  the  Library  (Sixteenth 
Century) 458 

De  Luxe  Binding  from  the  Bibliotheca 
Palatina   (1577) 459 

Procession  of  Sixtus  V  (1585-1590)  to 
St.  John   Lateran 4(11 

Fresco  showing  the  Plan  for  the  Re- 
building of  a  Large  Portion  of  Rome 
begun  by  Sixtus  V 402 

De  Luxe  Binding,  .showing  the  .\rms 
of  Clement  VIII  Aldobrandini  (1592- 
1005) 403 

Manuscript  sliowing  Mexican  Figures 
with  Explanatory  Inscriptions  and 
Comments 404 

De  Luxe  Binding,  showing  the  .\rms 
of  Paul  V  Horghese  (  l(;o5-1021)  .       .      405 

The  "Purgatorio"  of  Dante   (Ferrarcse 

School,  Sixteenth  (Century)    .      .  400 

Bronze  Bust  of  Emperor  John  VHl 

Paheologus    (1421-1448)    ....      407 

The  Famous  Farnese  Clock  ....      469 

Tin;  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES 

First  Mention  of  Greenland  in   Papal 

Registers    (February   13,   1200)    .      .      475 

Lower  Part  of  One  of  the  Rouleaux  of 
Cluny   (July  13,  1245) 477 

Papal  BulUe  of  the  Thirteenth, 

Fourteenth  and  I-"ifteenlh  Centuries     48(1 

Reverse  of  these  Papal   BulUe     ...      481 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


xvii 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES— 
Continued 


Letter  of  Three  Cardinals  to  King 
Charles  of  Sicily  (August  16,  1316) 

Cedula  of  the  Papal  Surgeon,  Robertus 
de  Chingalo   (April,  1369)      .      .      . 

Leaden  Bulla  of  Paul  II  (1464-1471)   . 

Reverse  of  the  Bulla  of  Paul  II  . 

First  Mention  of  the  Discovery  of 
America  in  the  Papal  Registers 
(June  25,  1493) 

Conclusion  of  the  Bulla  of  Gregory  XV 
(November  15,  1621),  regulating  fu- 
ture Papal  Elections 493 

First  Page  of  the  Bull  of  Canonization 
of  St.  Rose  of  Lima  (April  12,  1671) 

Bulla  of  Clement  XI,  addressed  to 
Franciscus  Columna  (September  17, 
1707)        


483 

487 
488 
489 


491 


493 


495 


THE  MOSAIC  FACTORY 

Entrance  to  the  Mosaic  Factory  .  .  500 
Sample  Room  where  the  Enamels  are 

kept 500 

Collection  of  Mosaic  Works  501 

Mosaic  Artist  at  Work 501 

Furnace  for  the  Fusion  of  the  Enamels  502 

Manufacture  of  Enamel  Threads  .  .  502 
Office  of  the  Director  of  the  Mosaic 

Factory 503 

THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 

Cortile  del  Maresciallo  (only  entrance 

to  the  Conclave) 509 

Crowds  awaiting  the  Result  of  the 

Papal  Election 510 

The  Sistine  Chapel  Prepared  for  a 

Conclave 511 

Voting  Ballots  used  at  the  Papal 

Election 513 

The  Interior  of  the  Sistine  Chapel 

after  the  Election  of  Pius  X  .      .  514 

Papal  Decorations 517 

Order  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  518 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION— 
Continued 

PAGE 

Decoration  of  the  Vexillifer  or  Stand- 
ard-bearer      519 

Service  Medal  of  Pius  IX  ...  .  519 
Privy  Chamberlain  in  Spanish 

Costume 520 

Privy  Chamberlain  in  Service  Uniform  521 
Consecration  of  Hungarian  Bishops  in 

the  Sistine  Chapel 523 

Mass  according  to  the  Greek  Rite  in 

the  Aula  delle  Beatificazioni  .      .      .  523 

The  Tiara  or  Triple  Crown  ....  524 
Singers  of  the  Sistine  Choir  with 

Maestro  Perosi 525 

Papal  Processional  Cross     ....  527 

Pontifical  Mazziere  or  Mace-bearer  528 
Prince  Orsini,  Assistant  at  the  Papal 

Throne 529 

Marchese  Clemente  Sacchetti,  Foriere 

Maggiorc 531 

The  Portantina  of  Pope  Leo  XIII  .  .  533 
Marchese  Serlupi,  Cavallerizzo 

Maggiorc 534 

Papal  State  Coach 535 

Prince  Massimo,  Grand  Master  of  the 

Posts 537 

Platoon  of  the  Swiss  Guard  in  Old 

Uniform 539 

Colonel  Commander  Repond  of  the 

Swiss  Guard 540 

Captain  of  the  Swiss  Guard  .  541 
Sergeant  Banner-bearer  of  the  Swiss 

Guard 542 

Sergeant  of  the  Swiss  Guard  543 

Swiss  Guard 544 

Swiss  Guard  in  Old  Uniform     .      .      .  545 

Noble  Guard  of  His  Holiness     ...  546 

Officers  of  the  Palatine  Guard  .      .  548 

Officer  of  the  Papal  Gendarmes  550 

Marshal  of  the  Papal  Gendarmes           .  550 

Papal  Gendarmes  in  Service  Uniform.  551 
Residence  Erected  by  Pope  Pius  X  for 

the  Vatican  Servants 553 

Cortile  della  Stamperia  Nuova  .      .  555 

New  Vatican  Press 557 

Cortile  della  Stamperia  Vecchia     .  559 


PIAZZA       «    0^» 
S.  PIETRO   •         • 


1  .  Papal  Apartments. 

2  .  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V. 

3  .  Sala  dello  Spotjlialoio. 

4-7  .  (Lower Jloor.)     Ai)partaiiiei)l(i  Borgia. 
4-7  .  (Upper  Jloor.)     Stanze  of  Raphael. 

8  .  Torre  Borgia  (including  jjortion  ut  the  Appartanuiito  Borgia). 

9  .  Chapel  of  Pius  V. 


10-14  .  (Ground floor.)     New  Picture  Gallery. 

10-2.1  .  (Firstfloor.)     Halls  of  the  Library,  including  liie  Christian  Museum  (11) 
(Cf.  pp.  470-473). 

10-25  .  (Second  floor.)     Gallery  of  Geographical   Charts,  Gallery  of  Tapestries, 
Gallery  of  the  Candelabra. 

26  .  (Loiver floor.)     Egyptian  Museum. 

26  .  (Upper floor.)     Gregorian  Etruscan  Museum. 

27  .  Cabinet  of  the  Masks. 

28  .  Hall  of  the  Busts. 

29  .  Scala  Bramante. 

The  Mosaic  Factory  is  situated  under  the  Gallerj*  of  Inscriptions. 
The  Numismatic  Collection  adjoins  the  Appartamento  Borgia. 


Note. — These  plans  are  intended  only  to  show  the  general  location  of  the  most  Important 
portions  of  the  Vatican  Palaces.  Inasmuch  as  the  arrangement  of  the  rooms  differs  greatly 
on  the  difTerent  floors,  more  than  approximate  exactness  could  not  be  attained  here. 


Part  One 

HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 
VATICAN  PALACES  AND  GARDENS 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 
OF  THE  VATICAN  PALACES 

il3ra^mi,.u.TraK^< ;i ENTiFic  excavations  always  awaken  a  special  and 
SF-^S^rS^JS  wide-spread  interest,  when  the  spade  of  the  digger 
reaches  the  ruins  of  a  royal  palace  or  a  lordly  man- 
sion, and  begins  to  bring  to  the  light  the  long-forgot- 
ten treasures  of  the  past.  Schliemann's  achievements 
in  this  direction,  to  quote  but  a  single  example,  held 
the  whole  world  of  culture  breathless,  and  supplied 
I  so  much  information  concerning  the  earliest  periods 
of  civilization  that  much  time  was  needed  for  the  scientific  appraisal 
and  proper  coordination  of  his  discoveries. 

Why  do  such  excavations  especially  arouse  our  interest?  Doubtless 
the  reason  is  simply  that  in  the  palaces  of  the  great  the  civilization  of  a 
period  is,  as  it  were,  focussed.  Whatever  valuable  apparatus  of  a  scien- 
tific, cultural,  social,  or  material  kind  the  men  of  an  age  possess,  wall 
naturally  be  represented  by  their  choicest  specimens  in  the  mansions 
of  the  mighty  and  the  wealthy,  in  the  castles  of  the  nobility,  in  the  pal- 
ace of  the  king.  It  is  therefore  not  remarkable  that  archaeologists  en- 
gaged in  extensive  excavations  rejoice  beyond  measure  when  they  are 
so  fortunate  as  to  discover  a  handsome  castle  or  the  palace  of  a  van- 
ished dynasty. 

And  what  holds  good  for  relics  long  buried  in  the  earth,  holds  also 
good,  mutatis  mutandis,  for  the  royal  palaces  which  remain  standing 
to-day.  We  need  only  turn  over  the  pages  of  the  guides  of  the  sixteenth 
century  and  their  successors  down  to  the  modern  Baedeker  and  Murray 
to  be  convinced  of  this  fact,  for  we  there  find  that,  almost  without  ex- 
ception, the  seats  of  the  rulers  throughout  the  entire  w^orld  of  pagan 
and  Christian  civilization  are  described  in  detail  as  centres  of  special 
interest  for  pilgrims  and  travellers;  and  the  older  such  palaces  are,  the 
further  their  history  extends  back  into  the  past,  the  richer  and  more 
perfect,  as  a  rule,  is  their  equipment. 

That  so  ancient  a  dynasty  as  that  of  the  Popes — who,  with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions, always  resided  in  Rome — needed  from  the  very  beginning  a 
large  palace  for  the  accommodation  of  the  ecclesiastical  court,  for  the 
reception  of  distinguished  guests,  and  for  other  requirements,  is  seen 


4  THE  VATICAN 

from  the  fact  that,  at  the  same  time  as  he  removed  the  sliackles  of  the 
Church,  Constanline  tlie  Great  assigned  such  a  palace  to  its  Pope.  Tills 
was  llie  Palace  of  tlie  Lalei'ani,  an  old  Roman  family;  and  from  the 
name  of  this  family  the  papal  residence  was  briclly  named  the  I^aleran. 
In  the  course  of  the  centuries  this  palace  became  so  equipped  with 
works  of  art  of  every  kind  that  Dante  declared  there  was  no  more  beau- 
tiful residence  on  earth. 

But  when  the  Popes  left  Rome  for  a  loni^  interval  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  their  palace  fell  into  decay  and  sulTered  considerable  damage 
from  lire;  and  after  the  return  of  the  Papacy  to  Rome,  subsequent  to 
the  Council  of  Constance  (1417),  the  Lateran  never  recovered  its  posi- 
tion as  the  centre  of  ecclesiastical  life.  The  Popes  went  Orst  to  S.  Maria 
in  Trastevere,  then  to  S.  Maria  Maggiore  (the  Quirinal),  and  linally 
to  the  Vatican.  Since  then  the  last-named  palace  has  remained,  prac- 
tically without  interruption,  the  residence  of  the  Popes.  This  does 
not  mean  that  they  dwelt  there  uninterrui)tedly,  especially  during  the 
sultry  months  of  the  year.  Nor  does  it  mean  that  attempts  were  not 
made  to  transfer  elsewhere  the  chief  papal  residence  permanently — 
for  example,  under  Paul  II,  who  had  destined  for  this  purpose  the 
Palazzo  di  Venezia,  which  he  erected.  Nor,  finally,  does  it  mean  that 
occasionally  the  Vatican  did  not  remain  unoccupied  for  long  intervals. 
Still  it  is  perfectly  correct  to  say  that,  since  the  fifteenth  century,  the 
world  has  been  accustomed  to  associate  the  term  Vatican  with  the  chief 
residence  of  the  Popes. 

All  other  papal  palaces,  whether  in  Rome,  Viterbo,  Perugia,  Anagni, 
Avignon,  Castel  Gandolfo,  or  elsewhere,  yield  the  palm  to  the  Vatican 
without  a  protest. 

While  situated  in  a  distant  corner  of  Rome,  the  Lateran  residence  lay 
within  the  city  walls  and  belonged  to  the  city.  The  spot,  however, 
where  Christ's  first  Vicegerent  on  earth  was  martyred  and  buried  lay 
outside  the  city,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber.  Over  the  grave  of  St. 
Peter  Constanline  the  Great  erected  his  glorious  basilica.  On  this  iial- 
lowed  spot  assembled  crowds  of  pilgrims  from  all  lands,  and  here  the 
Popes  repeatedly  held  the  most  glorious  ecclesiastical  functions.  As 
most  of  the  great  feasts  began  on  the  Vigil— that  is.  on  the  afternoon 
preceding — the  Pope  had  on  such  occasions  to  spend  the  night  at  St. 
Peter's  with  his  whole  retinue.  Hence  arose  the  urgent  necessity  of 
erecting  in  the  vicinity  a  larger  residence  for  the  Pope.  Again,  in  the 
course  of  time  many  ])iinces  and  kings  had  to  be  received  and  lodged 
by  the  Pope  near  St.  Peter's.  Thus,  under  the  force  of  circumstances, 
the  originally  modest  residence  developed  into  a  great  palace  immedi- 
ately adjacent  to  the  Basilica  Constantini.  The  Pope  only  did  what  the 


ns:] 


6  THE  \' ATI  CAN 

Christian  nations  in  Europe  did  in  these  early  centuries  for  their  sub- 
jects \  isitinj^  Home.  In  a  small  circle  around  St.  Peter's  arose  pilj^rim- 
houses  for  the  Anglo-Saxons,  the  (iermans,  Oriental  pilgrims,  and  so 
on.  The  grave  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  was  thus  surrounded  by 
a  number  of  more  or  less  pretentious  buildings,  of  whicii  all  served 
indirectly  to  show  veneration  to  St.  Peter.  And  all  lay  outside  the  city 
walls.  It  was  a  settlement  of  a  peculiar  kind  which  was  there  estab- 
lished. Without  any  orderly  arrangement  of  streets,  houses,  number- 
less churches,  and  cemeteries  were  spread  in  an  artistic  group  over  the 
plain  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Vatican. 

This  settlement,  however,  was  exposed  to  every  hostile  invasion. 
The  Saracens  on  one  occasion  sacked  the  Basilica  and  all  the  adjacent 
buildings  so  thoroughly  that  Leo  IV  (847-855)  determined  to  surround 
the  Vatican  Hill  with  walls.  Of  these  a  small  portion,  with  two  power- 
ful towers,  may  be  still  seen  in  the  Vatican  Gardens.  The  settlement 
thus  became  a  portion  of  the  city,  although  as  yet  the  municipal  admin- 
istration of  Rome  exercised  no  authority  over  the  Vatican  district. 
It  was,  indeed,  not  until  the  sixteenth  century  that  the  separate 
papal  administration  of  the  Leonine  City  (as  the  district  was  named, 
after  Leo  IV)  was  merged  in  the  general  administration  of  the  City 
of  Rome. 

Architectural  History. — Neglecting  the  maze  of  conjectures  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  first  dwelling  of  the  Popes  near  St.  Peter's,  we 
meet  the  certain  information  that  Pope  Symmachus  (498-514)  built  a 
palace  immediately  adjacent  to  the  Basilica,  on  the  left  and  right.  What 
further  buildings  were  erected  there  in  the  following  centuries  is  not 
known.  Under  the  Popes  from  Eugene  III  to  Innocent  III,  inclusive 
(1145-1210),  fairly  extensive  buildings  grew  up  around  St.  Peter's,  so 
that  between  the  Portico  of  St.  Peter  and  the  Vatican  Hill  a  very  beauti- 
ful palace  had  arisen. 

Pope  Nicholas  HI  (1277-1280)  conceived  magnificent  plans  for  cov- 
ering the  Vatican  Hill  with  buildings.  He  began  the  erection  of  a  very 
extensive  palace  there,  and  this  was  brought  to  approximate  comj)le- 
tion  by  his  immediate  successors.  By  extensive  purchases  of  land 
through  his  Apostolic  Chamber  (that  is,  the  Papal  Ministry  of  Finance), 
Nicholas  a.ssured  to  the  Popes  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the  \'ati- 
can  Hill  and  the  surrounding  property.  The  present  Vatican  Gardens 
represent  a  large  pf)rtion  of  Nicholas's  |)urchase. 

In  so  far  as  the  investigations  into  the  history  of  the  building  of  liie 
old  Apostolic  Palace  beside  St.  Peter's  extend,  and  in  so  far  as  this 
history  may  be  deduced  froiu  the  masonry,  we  may  slate  that  the 
buildings  erected  by  Nicholas  and  his  successors  occupied  aj^proxi- 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  7 

mately  the  site  where  the  western,  southern,  and  eastern  boundaries  of 
the  Cortile  del  Papagallo  are  now  situated,  and  communicated  with  the 
buildings  which  lie  around  the  Cortile  del  Maresciallo. 

In  1305 — a  few  years  after  the  completion  of  this  new  palace,  which 
stood  high  on  the  Vatican  Hill  and  dominated  the  Rasilica — the  Arch- 
bishop of  Bordeaux  was  elected  Pope  and  took  the  title  of  Clement  V. 
Instead  of  proceeding  directly  to  the  Curia  and  Sacred  College  at 
Perugia,  he  summoned  them  to  meet  him  in  southern  France.    If  he 


immu  n 


>-•*=«•  4a  MM*  t«.. 


Pari  of  the-  Piazza  di  S.  Pii'tro,  showing  the  Vatican  Palace 

ever  seriously  entertained  the  thought  of  going  to  Rome,  he  never  put 
this  plan  into  execution.  For,  after  wandering  irresolutely  for  a  time 
in  southern  France,  he  finally  settled  in  Avignon.  Thus  began  the 
Avignon  Exile  of  the  Papacy,  which  lasted  until  the  beginning  of 
the  great  Western  Schism  in  1378,  when  the  Anti-Pope  Clement  VII 
of  Avignon  opposed  the  rightful  Pope  (Urban  VI)  in  Rome.  The 
schism  w^as  finally  settled  by  the  election  of  Martin  V  at  the  Council  of 
Constance  in  1417,  after  which  the  Roman  Pope  (Martin  V)  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  whole  Catholic  world  as  the  only  and  rightful  successor 
of  Peter.  Another  schism  was  indeed  later  caused  by  the  Anti-Pope 
Felix  V  (1439-1449),  whose  name  is  closely  associated  with  the  Council 


8  THE  VATICAN 

of  Basle,  but  it  exercised  no  appreciable  efTect  on  the  general  peace  of 

the  Church. 

The  departure  of  the  Popes  from  Rome  to  Avignon  (l-'JOo)  left  the 
Eternal  Cily  desolate.  Churches,  streets,  and  palaces  fell  into  decay; 
internal  feuds  caused  grievous  bloodshed;  impoverished  Rome  sank 
away  into  insignificance.  The  general  fate  of  the  cily  was  shared  by 
the  buildings  around  St.  Peter's.  The  roofs  leaked:  Ihe  rains  beat  in 
through  the  windows;  those  who  desired  to  pilfer  building  material 
from  the  edifices  did  so  without  interference. 

The  chief  residence  of  the  Popes  had  hitherto  been  the  Lateran  Pal- 
ace, but  a  fierce  fire  had,  as  already  remarked,  almost  complelely  gutted 
it.  And  thus  il  came  to  pass  that  the  Popes  of  the  fifteenth  century 
adopted  as  their  chief  residence  the  Vatican  Palace,  wdiich  was  gradu- 
ally undergoing  a  complete  restoration. 

Where  the  visitor  beholds  to-day  with  wondering  admiration  the 
Loggie  of  Raphael,  the  state  rooms  of  the  Appartamento  Borgia,  and 
the  Stanze  of  Raphael,  Nicholas  V  (1447-1455)  undertook  to  build  an 
extension  to  the  existing  buildings.  At  the  end  of  the  same  century 
Alexander  VI  (1492-1503)  erected  a  strong  tower  immediately  adjacent 
(the  Torre  Borgia),  which,  being  now  deprived  of  its  militant  crown, 
conveys  no  longer  the  impression  of  a  tower. 

The  south  side  of  the  old  palace  was  beautified  by  Pius  II  (1458- 
1464)  and  Paul  II  (1464-1471),  while  Innocent  VIII  undertook  such  a 
fundamental  renovation  of  the  first  palace,  adjacent  to  the  Portico  of 
St.  Peter,  that  he  might  be  said  to  have  practically  rebuilt  it.  Conse- 
quently, this  portion  of  the  Vatican  buildings  has  been  since  known 
as  the  Palazzo  di  Innocenzo  VI II.  For  purposes  of  defence.  Pope 
Nicholas  V  erected  at  the  foot  of  the  Vatican  Hill,  in  the  direction  of 
S.  Angelo,  a  powerful  bastion  whose  mighty  walls  awaken  even  to- 
day the  astonishment  of  every  visitor.  It  was  named  II  Torrione  di 
Niccolo  V. 

All  these  buildings  were  confined  to  the  eastern  and  southern  sides 
of  the  Vatican  Hill,  and  thus  lay  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  St.  Peter's. 
The  only  exception  was  a  summer-house,  which  Innocent  Mil  erected 
at  a  distance  of  about  seven  hundred  melres  lo  the  north  of  the  pal- 
ace in  the  Gardens.  How  Clement  XIV  (1769-1774)  and  Pius  VI 
(1775-1799)  transformed  this  Casino  d'Innocenzo  VIll.  with  its  glo- 
rious ceilings  and  other  princely  decorations,  into  one  of  Ihe  most 
important  portions  of  the  Vatican  Museum  of  Statuary,  will  be  dis- 
cussed below. 

Pope  Sixtus  IV  (1471-1484),  the  gifted  founder  of  the  Palatine  Li- 
brary, erected  on  the  ground  floor  in  the  northern  wing  of  the  buildings 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 


9 


enclosing  the  Cortile  del  Papagallo  the  state  rooms  for  his  collection 
of  books. 

To  this  fairly  uniform  group  of  buildings  Julius  II  (1503-1513) 
added  a  long  gallery  at  right  angles.  It  begins  near  the  Loggie  and 
extends  to  the  Casino  of  Innocent  VIII.  This  contains  to-day  the  Gal- 
leria  Lapidaria  or  Corridoio  delle  Iscrizioni  (Gallery  of  Inscriptions) 
and  the  Museo  Chiaramonti  (a  section  of  the  Sculpture  Gallery). 
Parallel  to  the  above  and  beginning  from  the  Borgia  Tower,  Pius  IV 
(1559-1565)  built  a  similar  long  and  narrow  row  of  buildings  in  which 
are  accommodated  to-day  the  Vatican  Pinacoteca  (Picture  Gallery),  a 


('.(irtile  ili  lU'lvrik-rc 

large  portion  of  the  Library'  and  of  the  Museum,  and  also  the  Secret 
Archives.  As  a  kind  of  connecting  link  between  the  ends  of  these 
parallel  buildings,  the  same  Pontiff  erected  the  monumental  Loggia 
known  as  II  Gran  Nicchione  (the  Great  Niche). 

Where  the  above-mentioned  row  of  buildings  meets  the  Borgia 
Tower,  PiusV  (1566-1572)  established  three  chapels,  one  over  the  other, 
and  all  the  buildings  to  the  north  are  to  be  credited  to  the  same  Pope. 

The  building  connecting  the  palace  and  the  Torrione  di  Niccolo  V 
owes  its  origin  to  Pius  V  and  his  successor,  Gregory  XIII.    The  power- 


THE  VATICAN 


(jiiiilc  ili  S.  1  >amas 


Siiilo    Pia 


Scala  Nobile 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 
which   the   Popes 


11 


ts   lived   and 


Bronze  Gate 


fill  block,  in 
themselves  had  long 
still  live,  runs  at  right  angles  to 
this  connecting  building  and  to 
the  Torrione,  and  covers  the  last 
spurs  of  the  Vatican  Hill  in  the 
direction  of  S.  Angelo.  It  was  be- 
gun by  the  great  Sixtus  V  (1585- 
1590),  but  was  onlv  completed 
under  Clement  VIII  '(1592-1605). 
Extending  along  the  southern 
slopes  of  the  hill  towards  the 
Piazza  di  S.  Pietro,  Julius  HI 
(1550-1555)  erected  some  low 
buildings  upon  mighty,  almost 
Cyclopean  substructures.  These 
buildings  were  not  quite  com- 
pleted until  the  reign  of  Pius  IX 
(1846-1878). 

Sixtus  V  erected  a  transverse 
building  joining  in  the  middle  the  two  wings  wdiich  run  to  the  Gran 
Nicchione.  In  this  building  he  established  the  new  library,  and  the 
mighty  court  was  now  divided  into  two  parts.  The  upper  half  of  this 
court  was  further  divided  by  a  transverse  wing,  known  as  the  Braccio 
Nuovo,  in  which  Pius  VII  (1800-1823)  placed  a  number  of  choice  trea- 
sures of  the  Sculpture  Gallery.  All  the  other  buildings  about  the  Gran 
Nicchione  devoted  to  the  Museum  were  either  built  or  rebuilt  under 
Pius  VI  and  Pius  VII  (1775-1828).  A  very  small  wing,  arched  over  the 
passage  leading  to  the  Museum  and  containing  valuable  antiquities, 
was  built  by  Paul  V  ( 1605-1621 ) . 

The  quarters  of  the  Swiss  Guard  and  the  gendarmes  lie  in  front  of 
the  Torrione,  and  date  from  the  nineteenth  century.  Other  smaller 
scattered  groups  of  buildings  may  be  here  passed  over,  inasmuch  as 
they  are  without  importance  in  the  architectural  history  of  the  palace. 
Leo  XIII  (1878-1903)  erected  on  the  top  of  the  hill  in  the  Vatican  Gar- 
dens a  summer-house  of  modest  dimensions,  which  now  serves  as  the 
Vatican  Observatory.  Finally,  Pius  X  has  erected  a  large  building  near 
the  Palace  of  Sixtus  V  for  the  clerks  and  servants  of  the  Vatican.  Of 
the  last  we  shall  speak  further  below. 

Papal  Apartments. — Visitors  crossing  the  bridge  of  S.  Angelo  and 
hurrying  through  the  Borgo  Nuovo  to  St.  Peter's,  see  to  the  right  a 
mighty,  but  rather  unsightly  palace  towering  high  above  the  Colon- 


12 


THE  VATICAN 


Section  of  tlie  Ceiling,  Sala  Concistoria 


Sala  Concistoria 


The  Decano 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  13 

nades  of  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro. 
To  the  left  of  the  palace  lies  a 
courtyard  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  Loggie,  which  were  for- 
merly open,  but  are  now  enclosed 
by  glass  windows.  The  palace  is 
that  of  Sixtus  V.  The  north  side 
of  the  open  court  is  bounded  by 
the  row  of  buildings  erected  by 
Pius  V  and  Gregory  XIII,  while 
the  buildings  on  the  west  were 
built  by  Nicholas  V. 

The  Pope  dwells  on  the  second 
and  third  stories  of  the  Palace  of 
Sixtus  V,  and  his  Secretary  of 
State  occupies  the  first  floor.  Vis- 
itors invited  to  a  private  audience 
enter  the  palace  through  the 
Bronze  Gate(Portone  diBronzo), 
the  portal  at  the  beginning  of  the 
right  colonnade,  and  are  directed  up  a  staircase  by  the  non-commis- 
sioned officer  or  sergeant-major  of  the  Swiss  Guard  posted  there.  This 
abnormally  broad  flight,  with  its  massive  granite  steps  and  marble  bal- 
ustrade, was  erected  by  Pius  IX  to  provide  the  Vatican  Palace  with  a 
monumental  stairway,  and  is  consequently  known  as  the  Scala  Pia.  A 
door  on  the  second  landing  leads  to  the  office  of  the  Sub-Prefect  of  the 
Apostolic  Palaces,  while  the  door  on  the  third  and  last  landing  leads  to 
the  offices  of  the  High  Chamberlain  of  His  Holiness,  the  Maestro  di 
Camera. 

A  few  steps  further  on  we  reach  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  (Court  of 
St.  Damasus).  Two  papal  gendarmes  guard  the  entrance,  and  direct 
visitors  to  any  part  of  the  palace.  This  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  is  the  open 
court  which  we  see  from  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro,  and  now  fills  us  with 
wonder  and  admiration,  its  quiet  majesty  being  disturbed  only  by  the 
automobiles  awaiting  some  ambassadors  and  envoys  who  are  visiting 
the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State. 

Our  way  now  leads  us  diagonally  across  the  courtyard  to  a  somewhat 
unsightly  tower  before  which  two  gendarmes  are  on  guard.  After  a 
careful  scrutiny  of  our  invitation  to  the  audience,  we  are  admitted  and 
ascend  a  few  steps  to  meet  some  sentries  of  the  Swiss  Guard,  who  are 
stationed  at  the  Scala  Nobile  (Noble  Staircase)  with  halberd  on  arm. 
This  staircase  is  lighted  by  two  stained  glass  windows,  restored  by  the 


14  THE  VATICAN 

late  Prince  Regent  Leopold  of  Bavaria  after  those  donated  by  King 
Louis  had  been  destroyed  by  the  shock  of  a  powder  exjihjsion  in 
the  neighborhood.  Over  the  staircase  itself,  the  steps  of  whicii  are  of 
wliite  marble,  arches  a  colfered  roof,  while  llie  walls  are  lined  with 
yellow  artiticial  marble.  On  the  first  landing  are  seen  the  doors  lead- 
ing to  the  chambers  of  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State;  one  of  the  Swiss 
Guards  is  stationed  here  also,  and  directs  us  to  the  next  landing.  Hav- 
ing reached  this  landing,  we  are  confronted  by  a  glass  door  through 
which  we  see  an  immensely  high  and  almost  square  hall — the  Sala 


Siila  Clementina 


Clementina  (Clementine  Hall ),  named  after  its  founder,  Pope  Clement 
VHI  Aldobrandini  (1592-1605).  Should  the  visitor  be  unaware  of  the 
family  from  which  this  Pope  sprang,  the  arched  roof  covered  willi 
frescoes,  in  which  the  arms  of  the  Aldobrandini  appear  in  every  pos- 
sible combination,  (piickly  informs  him.  A  picket  of  Swiss  (luards 
stand  on  sentry  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  and  present  arms  while  the  Maes- 
tro di  Camera  goes  to  wait  on  His  Holiness.  The  impression  made  on 
the  visitor  by  this  wonderful  hall,  with  its  gical  architectural  beauty,  is 
deep  and  lasting.  It  is  the  magnificent  antechamber  to  the  reception 
rooms  of  the  Holy  Father,  and,  on  account  of  its  size,  is  often  used  for 
the  reception  of  pilgrims. 

Behind  the  Sala  Clementina   is  the  Sala  Concistoria   (Consistorial 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  15 

Hall),  a  long  but  narrow  room  hung  with  red  damask.  The  richly  cof- 
fered roof  gleams  with  a  lustre  of  gold.  In  the  background  rises  a 
throne,  richly  caparisoned  but  exercising  not  an  entirely  pleasing 
effect;  this  was  presented  to  Pius  X  by  the  Catholics  of  Venice.  From 
the  Sala  Clementina  we  proceed  to  the  Anticamera  Rassa,  where  ser- 
vants in  dark  red  uniforms  assist  the  visitors  to  remove  their  overcoats 
and  wraps.  The  head  servant  in  black  dress-coat,  who  is  called  the 
Decano,  takes  our  invitation,  leads  us  through  a  series  of  apartments 
to  the  Throne  Room,  and  there  leaves  us  to  await  our  turn.  The  first 
of  the  well-lighted  rooms  through  which  we  pass  is  known  as  the  Sala 
(lei  Gendarmi,  because  here  on  solemn  occasions  two  gendarmes  in 
full  uniform  with  high  busbies  keep  guard.  The  second  apartment 
traversed  is  a  corner  room,  and  is  therefore  known  as  the  Sala  del  Can- 
tone;  it  is  also  called  the  Sala  delta  Guardia  Palatina,  because  a  division 
of  the  Palatine  Guard  render  honorary  service  here  on  festivals.  In  the 
third  room — a  room  of  moderate  size — hang  three  Gobelins;  as  the 
lilies  conspicuous  in  the  coat  of  arms  decorating  these  tapestries 
might  suggest,  they  were  presented  to  the  Pope  by  Louis  XV.  The 
fourth  room  is  narrow,  and  in  this  members  of  the  Noble  Guard  are 
stationed. 

The  door  in  the  background  leads  to  one  of  the  private  chapels  of  the 
Holy  Father,  who  sometimes  administers  Easter  Communion  there  to 
the  prelates  on  Maundy  Thursday.  The  floor  of  the  Throne  Room,  in 
which  we  now  find  ourselves,  is  entirely  covered  by  a  thick  carpet 
manufactured  specially  for  this  hall.  The  carpet  is  a  present  from 
Spain  and  is  of  great  value.  The  arms  of  Leo  XIII  show  that  it  dates 
from  his  pontificate.  The  walls  are  hung  with  red  damask.  On  the 
longitudinal  walls  are  seen  a  pair  of  monumental  marble  consoles  with 
valuable  French  chimney  clocks  from  the  time  of  Louis  XVI.  Two 
huge  windows  admit  a  light  softened  by  white  silk  curtains  and  green 
silk  draperies;  these  windows  command  a  delightful  view  of  S.  Angelo, 
the  Pincio,  and  the  city  between.  The  new  Palace  of  Justice,  with  its 
steep  roof  and  its  obtrusive  ornamentation,  is  a  disturbing  element  in 
the  picture.  Opposite  the  windows  stands  the  plain  throne,  surmounted 
by  a  canopy. 

We  have  just  had  time  to  examine  carefully  our  surroundings,  and 
to  allow  the  glorious  simplicity  and  pure  restfulness  characterizing  the 
decorations  of  all  the  rooms  traversed  to  make  their  impression,  when 
we  hear  the  voice  of  the  Chamberlain  in  waiting  summoning  us  to  fol- 
low him.  We  first  enter  another  corner  room,  the  Anticamera  Segreta 
(Privy  Antechamber),  which  is  occupied  by  the  immediate  personal 
attendants  of  the  Pope.    The  yellow  tint  of  the  old  and  very  valuable 


16 


THE  VATICAN 


Throne  Room 


Privy  AnlfrliambcT 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  17 

Gobelin  carpet  which  covers  the  floor  is  in  complete  harmony  with  the 
quiet  but  refined  decorations.  The  little  table  in  the  corner  indicates 
that  some  official  is  regularly  stationed  there.  This  Privy  Antechamber 
separates  the  general  reception  rooms  from  those  which  are  used  for 
the  various  grades  of  private  audience.  At  the  end  of  this  suite  lies 
the  large  library  used  by  the  Holy  Father  both  as  a  working  room 
and   for  receptions.     We   are   next   led   through   two   small   rooms 


Sala  i\v\  'ri'iiiu'tto 

whose  atmosphere  is  one  of  supreme  restfulness.  A  smaller  room 
is  then  reached,  known  as  the  Sala  del  Tronetto  from  the  plain  throne 
it  contains. 

We  now  stand  before  a  door  hung  with  red  draperies.  The  Chamber- 
lain in  waiting  knocks,  genuflects,  and  then  announces  us.  At  a  sign 
from  the  Chamberlain  we  enter,  make  the  prescribed  triple  reverence, 
and  see  fixed  on  us  the  kindly  eyes  of  an  aged,  gray-haired  man  clothed 
in  white.  Standing,  he  greets  us,  motions  us  to  take  our  places  near  his 
writing-table,  and  quickly  dispels  our  embarrassment  with  his  kind 
and  reassuring  words. 

Three  large  windows  light  the  lofty  and  broad  room,  which  serves 
as  the  private  library  of  the  Pope.  A  number  of  book-cases  line  the 
walls;  a  mahogany  table  of  gigantic  dimensions  runs  through  the  mid- 
dle of  the  room,  and  is  littered  with  books,  documents,  presents  of  all 


18 


THE  VATICAN 


I'll  \  ;ilc   l.ibrarv  (if  tlic 


kinds,  a  few  vases,  and  other  objects.  A  row  of  valuable  oil  paintings, 
representing  wild  animals,  hangs  over  the  bookcases.  Three  busts 
resting  on  magnificent  marble  pillars  complete  the  furnishings.  On 
the  writing-table  ticks  a  valuable  clock,  and  a  number  of  small  presents 
from  all  lands  fill  every  space  on  the  table  left  unoccupied  by  books 
and  documents.  A  second  door  leads  from  the  hall  to  a  vestibule,  and 
thence  a  stairway  leads  to  the  third  story.  After  w^ork  is  done  in  the 
evening,  or  when  meal-time  comes,  the  Pope  ascends  by  this  stairway 
to  the  living-rooms  which  he  occupies  with  his  two  private  secretaries. 
On  this  upper  floor  are  the  bedrooms,  the  dining-room,  the  sitting- 
room,  rooms  for  the  servants,  the  kitchen,  and  the  other  rooms  pertain- 
ing to  housekeeping.  All  these  rooms  are  furnished  with  great  sim- 
plicity, and  the  houses  of  many  well-to-do  burgesses  possess  much 
more  costly  furniture  than  the  private  apartments  of  the  Pope. 

From  time  immemorial  it  was  customary  for  the  Poi)e  to  take  his 
meals  alone.  Only  when  (before  1870)  he  was  on  summer  holidays 
(for  example,  at  Castel  Gandolfo)  or  on  a  journey  was  he  accustomed 
to  dine  with  the  high  cf)ui't  officers  and  specially  invited  guests.  Leo 
XIII  observed  Ihis  rule  siriclly,  bul  Pius  X,  who  is  very  sociable  as  com- 
pared with  his  more  reserved  predecessors,  could  not  sentence  himself 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  19 

to  loneliness  at  meal-time.  After 
the  first  few  days  of  his  pontifi- 
cate, he  invited  his  two  private 
secretaries  to  join  him  at  meals, 
just  as  he  had  done  as  Patriarch 
of  Venice.  He  went  even  fur- 
ther, and  when  occasionally  he 
consecrated  a  bishop  he  invited 
the  new  prelate  and  his  nearest 
of  kin  to  lunch.  He  also  fre- 
quently invited  to  breakfast  illus- 
trious guests  to  whom  he  had 
administered  Holy  Communion 
during  his  Mass.  The  traditional 
isolation  of  the  Pope  has  thus  to  a 
great  extent  ceased  since  the  coro- 
nation of  Pius  X,  and  in  this  re- 
spect ceremonial  has  been  greatly 
modified,  at  least  for  the  present 
pontificate. 

Southern  and  Eastern  Sections. 
black-bordered  invitation  which  entitles  us  to  attend  the  Solemn  Re- 
quiem in  the  Sistine  Chapel,  celebrated  each  year  for  the  happy  repose 
of  the  predecessor  of  the  reigning  Pontiff.  As  our  invitation  informs 
us,  the  entrance  is  through  the  Bronze  Gate,  below  on  the  Piazza  di  S. 
Pietro.  Thence  we  proceed  along  the  long  corridor  which  leads 
to  St.  Peter's,  but  is  also  the  immediate  approach  to  the  Scala  Regia 
(Royal  Staircase).  This  was  built  by  Bernini  under  Alexander  VII 
(1655-1667),  and,  owing  to  a  very  remarkable  arrangement  of 
the  pillars  supporting  the  vault,  which  project  further  from  the  wall 
below  than  above  on  the  staircase,  a  very  imposing  perspective  effect 
is  gained. 

At  the  end  of  this  architecturally  striking  portion  of  the  staircase  we 
turn  to  the  right  and  ascend  a  broad  flight  of  steps  to  an  extraordinarily 
high  door  which  admits  us  to  the  Sala  Regia  (Royal  Hall).  This  hall 
has  seven  doors.  Besides  that  by  which  we  entered,  a  door  in  the  small 
wall  to  the  right  leads  to  the  Pauline  Chapel  (Cappella  Paolina),  the 
parochial  church  of  the  Vatican  parish.  On  the  opposite  wall  the  first 
door  leads  to  the  huge  Aula,  situated  over  the  Portico  of  St.  Peter;  the 
middle  door  gives  access  to  the  Cortile  del  Maresciallo  over  a  servants' 
staircase;  a  huge  door  in  the  left  corner  leads  from  the  Sala  Regia  to  the 
Sala  Ducale.  To  the  left  of  the  door  by  which  we  enter  is  the  sixth  door, 


Wriliiig-Uible  of   Pope   Pius   X 

-Suppose  we  have  received  the 


20  THE  VATICAN 

Icadiiii-  to  the  Sistine  Chapel.    The  seveiiili  door,  to  the  lii^ht  as  we 
enter,  leads  to  a  servants'  room. 

The  present  writer  has  seen  this  celebrated  chapel  when  it  was  pre- 
pared for  the  exequies  of  Leo  XIII,  for  the  celebration  of  great  feasts, 
for  the  Conclave  (when  all  the  canopied  seats  for  the  electors  lined  the 
walls),  for  Secret  Consistories,  and  for  many  other  events  now  regis- 
tered in  the  annals  of  Church  history. 

On  the  present  occasion,  the  Cardinal  Deacon  celebrates  the  Re 
{[uiem,  and  the 
the  throne.  In 
behind  the  lat- 
the  cardinals, 
ingtotheirrank     ,  _.,        _,.    „^^  ^      ts?  - 

,.: -i. 


Behind  the  car- 
lioned  the  arch- 
ops,  the  colleges 
generals  of  the 
ders,  the  judges 
Courts,  and 
high  oflicials. 
tion  of  the 
marble  bar- 
sembled  the 
racy,  the  diplo- 
to  the  Holy  See, 
vited  persons 
land.  In  the 
is  held  the  Con- 
election     of    a 


Sciila   HeRia 


Pope  assists  on 
the  quadrangle 
ter  are  seated 
ranged  accord- 
and  seniority, 
dinals  are  sta- 
l)ishoi)s,  bish- 
of  prelates,  the 
religious  or- 
of  the  Papal 
many  other 
In  the  rear  por- 
chapel,  behind 
riers,  are  as- 
Roman  aristoc- 
mats  accredited 
and  other  in- 
from  every 
Sistine  Chapel 
clave  for  the 
new  Pope. 


The  Sacristan,  or  Pastor  of  the  Vatican  and  the  Apostolic  Palaces, 
who  is  always  a  titular  l)ishop,  exercises  his  office  in  the  above-men- 
tioned Pauline  Chajjcl,  and  has  the  spiritual  care  of  the  many  hundred 
residents  of  the  palace. 

Public  Consistories  are  usually  held  in  the  Sala  Regia,  while  the  Sala 
Ducale  is  especially  suilai)le  for  the  reception  of  bodies  of  i)ilgrims. 
From  the  Sala  Ducale  a  door  leads  to  the  Sala  dei  Paramcnti,  in  which 
the  Pope  ordinaiily  assumes  the  pontifical  vestments  when  he  under- 
takes some  function  in  any  of  the  above-mentioned  halls.  The  assem- 
bled cardinals  await  the  Pope  in  the  neighboring  room,  the  Sala  dello 
Spogliatoio,  in  which  also  the  prelates  take  their  i)laces.  These  halls 
receive  their  light  from  (he  I.oggie  of  Giovanni  da  Udine,  of  which 
more  will  be  said  below.    The  walls  of  these  rooms,  access  to  which  is 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  21 

denied  the  general  public,  are  covered  with  red  damask,  and  are  also 
adorned  with  some  Gobelins  richly  ornamented  with  life-sized  figures. 
After  the  Holy  Father  has  administered  Holy  Communion  to  the  spir- 
itual portion  of  his  family  on  Maundy  Thursday,  the  communi- 
cants are  by  his  orders  here  entertained  at  breakfast.  The  Majordomo, 
or  in  his  absence  the  Maestro  di  Camera,  does  the  honors  on  such  oc- 
casions. 

We  are  here  on  the  second  story  of  the  palace,  and,  if  we  step  out 
from  the  Sala  del  Paramenti  to  the  Loggie  situated  before  it,  we  can 
look  down  on  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso.  The  bay  windows  protect  the 
paintings  of  the  Loggie,  which  are  the  work  of  the  great  master  Gio 
vanni  da  Udine.  The  sketches  for  the  paintings  and  stucco  decorations 
of  these  once  open  halls  were  made  by  Raphael  himself,  as  is  suggested 
by  the  marble  bust  of  the  master  at  the  head  of  the  hall.  Leaf-  and 
tendril-work  border  the  airy  architectonic  lines,  and  the  elfect  is  en- 
livened by  animals  of  every  kind,  while  the  groining  of  the  vaults 
presents  a  picture  instinct  with  gaiety  and  joyous  coloring.  A  few  small 
earthenware  figures  of  great  artistic  value  adorn  the  sparely  orna- 
mented walls.    Among  these  is  a  particularly  striking  figure  of  Leo 

XIII  in  full  papal  vestments.  The  other  portions  of  the  Loggie  on  this 
story  are  furnished  in  essentially  simpler  fashion,  and  offer  nothing 
of  special  artistic  note. 

Near  the  Loggie  of  Giovanni  da  Udine  lies  the  Appartamento  Borgia, 
which  receives  special  treatment  elsewhere.  Passing  the  door  leading 
to  this  Appartamento  and  ascending  a  few  steps,  we  reach  the  Gallery 
of  Inscriptions,  an  extremely  long  corridor  in  which  about  six  thou- 
sand inscriptions  are  shown.  This  collection  was  begun  under  Clement 

XIV  (1769-1774),  continued  under  Pius  \T  (1775-1799),  and  completed 
under  Pius  VH  (1800-1823).  Gaetano  Marini,  the  famous  scholar,  who 
has  been  named  the  second  founder  of  Latin  epigraphy,  here  applied 
his  great  diligence  and  marvellous  learning  to  the  systematic  arrange- 
ment of  the  inscriptions,  the  Christian  being  inserted  in  the  left  wall 
and  the  pagan  in  the  right.  Marini's  magnificent  work  awakens  the 
astonishment  of  every  visitor,  and  is  of  incalculable  value  to  the 
student. 

At  the  end  of  the  Gallery  of  Inscriptions  we  see  on  the  left  a  huge 
door  on  which  is  written:  Bibliotheca  Vaticana.  Until  recently  this 
was  the  main  entrance  to  the  reading-room  of  the  Library.  How  things 
are  now  arranged  will  be  dealt  with  later.  Adjoining  the  Gallery  of 
Inscriptions  is  that  portion  of  the  Sculpture  Gallery  which  is  known 
as  the  Museo  Chiaramonti. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  Holy  Father  has  his  reception  rooms  on 


22 


THE  VATICAN 


Section  (if  the  Ceiling  of  the  Sala  Regia 


Section  of  a  Wall  in  the  Sala  Regia 


Sala  lU-gia 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  23 

the  second  floor.  If  the  visitor  on  entering  the  Sala  Clementina,  instead 
of  proceeding  to  the  papal  apartments  on  the  right,  passes  through  the 
opposite  door  on  the  left,  he  arrives  at  the  Loggie  of  the  second  floor. 
Straight  before  him  lie  the  Slanze  of  Raphael,  and  at  the  entrance 
thereto,  immediately  to  the  left,  the  Loggie  of  Raphael.  The  works  of 
art  collected  in  these  comparatively  small  rooms  through  the  royal 
liberality  of  the  Renaissance  Popes,  enjoy  a  universal  celebrity',  and 
are  described  by  expert  pens  in  special  chapters  of  this  book. 

Northern  and  Western  Sections. — Should  we  proceed  around  St. 
Peter's  to  visit  the  Vatican  Collections,  we  pass  through  an  arched  door 
and  encounter  a  very  long  wing  of  the  palace,  in  the  middle  of  which 
arises  a  powerful  quadrilateral  tower.  This  whole  long  row  of  build- 
ings, erected  by  Pius  IV,  is  devoted  exclusively  to  art  and  science.  Right 
before  us  we  see  the  entrance  to  the  Vatican  Picture  Gallerj'.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  the  ground  floor,  and  the  fire-proof  arches  receive  their  light 
from  the  east.  F'urther  on,  also  on  the  ground  floor,  lie  a  number  of  the 
rooms  devoted  to  the  Vatican  Secret  Archives.  The  full  length  of  this 
wing  on  the  first  floor  is  occupied  by  the  state  rooms  of  the  Vatican 
Library,  to  which  the  two  huge  halls  in  the  cross-building  built  by 
Sixtus  V  and  large  rooms  in  the  opposite  longitudinal  wing  also  belong. 
On  the  second  story  are  special  portions  of  the  Museum,  the  Gallery 
containing  the  renowned  tapestries  of  Raphael,  and  the  Gallery  of 
Geographical  Charts — sections  of  the  Vatican  Collections  which  will  be 
treated  fully  elsewhere.  The  buildings  of  the  northern  wing,  grouped 
around  the  Gran  Nicchione,  are  devoted  entirely  to  the  Museums  of 
Antiquities  and  Sculpture.  By  referring  to  the  plans  of  the  palace,  the 
reader  can  easily  identify  the  numerous  divisions  of  the  palace  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  sections.  They  represent  practically  all  the 
really  noteworthy  portions  of  a  mighty  palace  which  possesses  a  deep 
interest  for  everybody. 

Courts  of  the  Vatican. — The  reader  is  now  requested  to  return  to  the 
Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  to  undertake,  under  the  writer's  guidance,  a  round 
of  the  various  courtyards.  A  passage  on  the  right  of  the  Cortile  di  S. 
Damaso  leads  into  the  inner  court  of  the  Palace  of  Sixtus  V,  known  as 
the  Cortile  di  Sisto  V.  An  entrance,  recently  reopened,  leads  over  some 
steps  and  passages  to  the  Cortile  del  Triangolo,  a  three-cornered  court 
situated  exactly  behind  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  but  on  a  much  lower 
level.  Passing  along  the  outside  wall  of  this  court,  we  reach  the  Cortile 
di  Belvedere.  A  short  halt  here  will  repay  the  visitor.  In  the  middle 
of  this  mighty  courtyard,  which  the  Swiss  Guards  formerly  used  as  an 
exercising-ground,  murmurs  a  magnificent  fountain,  in  the  basin  of 
which  ducks  of  numerous  fancy  breeds  disport  themselves.  Every  side 


24 


THE  VATICAN 


Section  of  the  Ceiling,  Sala  Ducale 


Snla  Ducale 


Medieval  ('.ate  Icailinn  to  tin-  C.irlilc   lUl    I'.i],: 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  25 

of  the  court  is  flanked  by  lofty 
buildings.  From  this  point  the 
Picture  Gallery  may  be  seen  on 
the  lofty  first  floorof  the  opposite 
side,  the  entrance  being  on  the 
ground  floor.  Beneath  the  pow- 
erful arches  which  support  the 
Picture  Gallery  and  the  other  col- 
lections mentioned  above  runs  a 
steep  carriage-drive.  The  Library 
of  Sixtus  V  abuts  on  the  one  nar- 
row side  of  the  court  in  the  right 
corner,  and  the  other  longitudi- 
nal side  accommodates  the  Gal- 
lery of  Inscriptions.  The  second 
short  side  protrudes  in  a  sharp 
curve  below%  and  here  the  Appar- 
tamento  Borgia  and  the  Stanze  of 
Raphael  greet  us  with  their  small 
windows.  It  is  a  glorious  view 
for  visitors  who  can  slowly  drink  in  its  beauties  and  realize  that  they 
are  here  surrounded  by  the  most  precious  treasures  of  science  and  of 
art.  In  one  corner  rises  defiantly  the  Torre  dei  Quattro  Venti  (Tower 
of  the  Four  Winds),  in  which  the  scholars  engaged  by  Gregory  XIII 
(1572-1585),  under  Lilius,  Clavius,  and  Chaconius,  worked  out  their 
famous  reform  of  the  calendar.  Great  festivals  were  once  celebrated 
in  this  court,  and  even  in  our  days  festivities  are  occasionally  held  here 
in  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Father. 

Let  us  now  ascend  the  above-mentioned  covered  drive,  in  the  middle 
of  wdiich  begins  the  subterranean  passage,  constructed  specially  for 
Pius  X,  which  leads  under  the  Picture  Gallery  and  the  adjoining  car- 
riageway to  the  Vatican  Gardens.  We  thus  reach  the  Cortile  delta  Sen- 
tinella,  so  called  because  a  sentry  of  the  Swiss  Guard  here  guards  the 
entrance.  We  can  now  behold  the  massive  substructure  of  the  Sistine 
Chapel,  wdiich  mounts  high  into  the  air  beside  St.  Peter's.  A  plain  portal 
inserted  in  the  buttresses  of  the  building  gives  access  to  the  Cortile  delta 
Torre  Borgia  (Court  of  the  Borgia  Tower),  which  was  mentioned 
above.  A  few  steps  more  and  we  reach  the  Cortile  del  Papagallo  (the 
Parrot's  Court).  An  old  story  is  associated  with  this  strange  name. 
The  first  parrots  w^ere  brought  to  southern  Italy  after  the  discovery 
of  the  Canary  Islands.  As  it  was  then  customary  for  the  rulers  of  every 
land  to  offer  novelties  as  a  present  to  the  Pope,  these  birds  were  sent 


26 


THE  VATICAN 


Cortik'  (Ic'lla  Pigna,  showing  the  Braccio  Nuovo 

to  the  Vatican.  On  their  arrival  they  were  housed  in  a  separate  hall, 
and  were  assigned  a  special  attendant.  All  expenses  incurred  in  con- 
nection with  them  may  be  found  detailed  in  the  papal  account-books. 
Later  all  the  papal  palaces  in  Italy,  and  even  that  in  Avignon,  possessed 
a  Sala  dei  Papagalli  (Parrots'  Hall).  As  in  the  Vatican  the  hall  lay  in 
one  of  the  wings  enclosing  the  court,  the  name  was  extended  from  the 
hall  to  the  court. 

The  ground  floor,  on  the  northern  side  of  this  court,  contains  the  old 
library  of  Sixtus  IV.  Passing  now  through  a  passage  on  the  right,  we 
see  facing  us  the  roof  of  the  Colonnade  of  St.  Peter's.  This  serves  as 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  Cortile  del  Maresciallo  (the  Marshal's 
Court),  which  we  now  enter.  When  a  Conclave  is  being  held  in  liie 
Vatican  for  the  election  of  a  new  Pope,  the  hereditary  Marshal  of  the 
Conclave,  Prince  Chigi,  is  stationed  here  to  protect  the  Conclave  from 
outside  interference.  A  covered  passage  brings  us  back  to  the  Cortile 
di  S.  Damaso. 

The  Cortile  delta  Stamperia  is  accessible  only  through  the  vestibule 
of  the  Torre  dei  Oualiro  \'enti  or  through  the  Vatican  Library.  It 
owes  its  name  to  the  (act  that  the  Vatican  Press  once  occupied  rooms 
on  this  court  which  are  now  incorporated  in  the  Vatican  Library. 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  27 

The  last  court  to  call  for  mention  is  the  Cortile  delta  Pigna.  As 
already  stated,  this  and  the  last-mentioned  courts  once  formed  with  the 
Cortile  di  Belvedere  a  single  gigantic  court,  which  was  then  divided  into 
three  parts  by  Sixtus  V  (Library  of  Sixtus  V)  and  Pius  VII  (Braccio 
Nuovo).  The  Cortile  di  Belvedere  is  very  low-lying;  the  Cortile  delta 
Stamperia  is  several  metres  higher,  while  the  Cortile  delta  Pigna  lies 
on  a  level  with  the  first  floor. 


General  View  of  the  Cortile  della  Pigna 

In  the  Gran  Nicchione  (Great  Niche),  which  forms  the  extraordi- 
narily impressive  boundary  of  this  third  court,  stands  a  huge  bronze 
pine-cone  (pigna),  dating  from  very  early  times.  This  has  given  its 
name  to  the  court.  In  the  middle  of  this  court,  which  the  gardener's 
skill  has  greatly  enhanced,  rises  a  high  column  of  precious  marble,  on 
the  pinnacle  of  which  a  figure  of  St.  Peter  stands.  This  was  erected  in 
commemoration  of  the  Vatican  Council  of  1870.  Around  the  foot  of 
the  walls  lie  a  large  number  of  antiquities,  which  can  claim  no  place 
in  the  Museum  itself,  but  which  are  nevertheless  well  worth  attention. 
The  buildings  surrounding  the  court  belong  almost  exclusively  to  the 
great  Museum,  the  principal  works  of  art  being  preserved  in  the  build- 
ings behind  the  Gran  Nicchione  and  in  the  Braccio  Nuovo,  which  lies 
opposite. 

A  view  of  all  the  above-mentioned  courts  may  be  secured  by  ascend- 


28 


THE  VATICAN 


B;is-relitf  with  Wnrriors,  Cortilc  dclla  Pigna 

ing  to  the  Cupola  of  St.  Peter's.  From  there  we  see  far  bek)\v  us  the 
mighty  ashlars  of  the  different  palaces;  the  smaller  courts  yawn  be- 
neath us  like  pits,  while  the  larger  in  their  majestic  repose  bring  into 
sharp  prominence  the  lines  of  the  surrounding  buildings.  It  is  a  re- 
markable view  for  those  who  meditate  that  in  this  palace,  peacefully 
reposing  at  their  feet,  have  been  enacted  during  a  long  succession  of 
centuries  an  endless  chain  of  the  important  scenes  of  religious  and 
secular  history.  This  palace,  erected  by  the  very  side  of  the  grave  of 
the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  has  been  for  almost  five  centuries  the  chief 
abode  of  the  Papacy.  For  forty-three  years  indeed  it  has  also  been  the 
prison  of  the  Popes,  who  lost  practically  all  their  possessions  in  llic 
year  1870,  and  who  now  possess  but  this  palace  and  this  tiny  handlul 
of  earth.  From  our  present  position  we  can  survey  the  \'alican  (iar- 
dens,  the  only  refuge  of  the  white-haired  Pope  when  he  wishes  to 
walk  in  the  open  air.  If  fortune  favor  us,  and  the  day  be  clear,  we 
may  see  His  Holiness  taking  his  half-hour's  outing  along  the  broad 
I)ath  in  the  Cardens.  For  a  short  while  the  carriage  halts  in  the  full 
suidight  at  the  top  of  the  Gardens  near  the  Leonine  Wall,  and  then  the 
Pope  takes  a  short  walk  with  his  attendant. 

Entrances  to  the  Vatican. — The  guarding  of  all  the  entrances  to 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 


29 


Apotheosis  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina — Bas-relief, 
Cortile  della  Pigna 

the  palace  from  the  city  is  entrusted  to  the  Swiss  Guard.  Four  gates  are 
under  their  protection.  The  main  entrance,  or  Bronze  Gate,  under  the 
Colonnades  on  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro,  is  known  to  every  Roman  and 
every  visitor.  Here  is  stationed  the  strongest  guard,  under  the  com- 
mand of  one  of  their  chief  officers,  especially  during  the  afternoon.  At 
the  approach  of  all  dignitaries,  archbishops,  bishops,  and  prelates, 
when  these  are  recognizable  as  such  by  their  dress,  and  at  the  approach 
of  all  officers  of  the  Vatican  military  or  police  corps,  the  picket  fall  into 
line  at  the  summons  of  the  sentry.  If  the  visitor  does  not  wear  his 
otTicial  dress,  but  is  personally  known  to  the  sentry,  the  latter  alone 
gives  the  prescribed  salute.  On  solemn  occasions,  such  as  the  high 
ecclesiastical  feasts,  the  banner  of  the  Swiss  Guards  is  here  suspended, 
and  the  sentry  wears  parade  uniform.  This  gate  is  closed  at  night,  and 
all  persons  then  seeking  admission,  unless  they  dwell  in  the  Vatican 
or  are  personally  known  to  the  sentry,  must  establish  their  identity 
fully.  They  are  then  admitted  through  a  very  small  door  in  one  of  the 
wings  of  the  portal.  During  the  night  the  sentries  wear  undress  uni- 
form and  the  appropriate  cape.  The  second  entrance  is  through  the 
Portal  of  Alexander  VI,  in  the  middle  of  and  behind  the  Colonnades. 


30  THE  VATICAN 

It  is  immediately  adjacent  to  the  quarters  of  the  Swiss  Guard.  The 
use  of  this  door  by  slrani^crs  is  prohibited,  unless  they  are  i^oing  to  the 
canteen  of  liie  Swiss  (luard  or  wish  to  visit  some  one  in  the  vicinity. 
The  tiiird  entrance  is  from  tlie  street  lo  tiie  \'atican  Press  and  the  dis- 
pensary, both  of  which  are  situated  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  the  Torrione  di  Niccolo  V.  Tln'ough  this  door  passes  the  brisk  busi- 
ness trafiic  with  the  dispensary  and  printing  oPIices.  It  serves  as  the 
general  lamily  entrance  to  the  new  building  which  has  been  erected  by 
Pius  X  for  the  Vatican  employes  and  their  families.  Behind  St.  Peter's, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  is  the  fourth  entrance,  situated  on  the 


The  Pigna 

public  road  leading  to  the  Vatican  Collections.  The  guarding  of  this 
entrance  is  especially  important,  since  all  cars  and  automobiles  pro- 
ceeding to  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  enter  this  way.  The  guards  must 
possess  an  excellent  memory  for  persons  so  as  to  give  the  appropriate 
salute  to  each  cardinal,  ambassador,  envoy,  and  prelate  as  he  passes. 

Exterior  of  the  Vatican  Palaces. — Persons  who  make  a  complete 
tour  of  the  Vatican,  and  view  the  exterior  of  the  palace  from  the  various 
courts,  are  in  a  certain  sense  disa|)pf)inted.  If  we  leave  out  of  consid- 
eration certain  individual  features  and  several  poetical  corners,  and 
regard  the  palace  as  a  whole,  we  receive  the  impression  of  vastness, 
solidity,  and  magnificence,  but  for  architectural  beauties  we  seek  in 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 
The  Popes,  who  all  contrib- 


31 


Tower  nf  the  Four  Winds 


quite 


vain. 

uted  their  share  to  the  erection  of 
this  mass  of  buildings,  devoted  re- 
markably little  attention  to  the 
external  appearance  of  the  palace. 
The  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso,  the  main 
wall  of  the  Cortile  della  Pigna,  and 
a  few  other  portions  of  the  palace 
do  indeed  possess  architectural 
charm.  But,  taking  the  palace  as 
a  whole  and  passing  over  per- 
haps the  buildings  of  Sixtus  V, 
we  see  only  buildings  erected  for 
a  definite  purpose  and  walls 
constructed  only  in  the  plainest 
way. 

That  only  very  few  visitors  are 
conscious  of  this  fact  may  be  sim- 
ply explained,  because  visitors  as 
a  class  desire  chiefly  to  become 

acquainted  with  the  treasures  of  the  interior,  and  are  usually 
content  with  a  leisurely  survey  of  the  Palace  of  Sixtus  V  and  the  Cortile 
di  S.  Damaso  from  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro.  The  picture  which  thus  pre- 
sents itself  to  the  gaze  of  the  visitor  is  so  intimately  associated  with  the 
front  of  St.  Peter's  owing  to  the  aspiring  bare  gable  of  the  Sistine 
Chapel,  that  the  eye  loses,  as  it  were,  all  details  in  the  grandeur  of  the 
picture  as  a  whole. 

The  quiet  court  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  Palace  of  Sixtus  V  and 
bounded  on  the  right  by  the  Torrione  di  Niccolo  V  and  on  the  left  by 
the  wall  which  connects  the  palace  with  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo,  is  acces- 
sible only  to  very  few.  In  this  quiet  retreat  some  huge  elms  wave  softly 
in  the  breeze.  The  garden  behind  the  Museum,  with  its  glorious  view 
and  ancient  associations,  is  known  only  to  the  elect.  How  many  of  the 
thousands  who  hurry  from  the  Museum  to  the  Appartamento  Borgia 
pause  to  admire  the  view  from  the  window  of  the  Gallery  of  Inscrip- 
tions obliquely  across  the  Cortile  di  Belvedere  towards  the  Torre  dei 
Quattro  Venti?  It  is  of  a  rare  beauty,  and  it  recalls  the  times  of  Greg- 
ory XIII,  when  there  in  the  tower  above  Christianity  recovered  its  cor- 
rect chronology.  Of  such  charming  views  there  are  many,  and  they  all 
deserve  a  visit. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  proceed  around  St.  Peter's  to  the  Museum, 
we  have  on  our  right  a  bare  interminable  wall  whose  monotony  is 


32  THE  VATICAN 

broken  only  by  large  windows.  The  carriage-road  leading  from  the 
Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  assumes  a  forbidding  if  impressive  air  when  we 
look  up  at  Ihe  walls  of  the  narrow  courts.  A  few  traces  of  earlier 
frescoes  remaining  in  the  Cortile  del  Papagallo  show  that  in  times  long 
vanished  the  decoration  of  the  external  walls  of  the  palace  was  begun. 
If  we  now  proceed  from  the  Vatican  Press  to  the  Cortile  di  Belvedere, 
we  sec  facing  us  a  great  wall  several  hundred  metres  long,  whose  sur- 
face seems  scarcely  broken  by  a  few  windows.  Even  the  extraordinary 
inscription,  formed  of  huge  letters  of  cut  marble,  can  give  no  life  to 
this  wall.  All  this,  however,  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  the  general 
impression  made  by  the  Vatican  Palace,  viewed  either  from  a  distance 
or  close  at  hand,  is  deep  and  lasting. 

TiiK  Rri.KR  OF  THE  Vaticax. — In  his  mode  of  life  Pius  X  is  extraordi- 
narily, in  fact  astonishingly  simple.  Life  could  scarcely  be  simpler  in 
the  home  of  a  burgess  in  moderate  circumstances.  In  so  far  as  the 
doctors  allow  him,  he  adheres  in  his  diet  to  Venetian  cooking,  to  which 
he  has  been  accustomed  all  his  life.  He  partakes  of  his  chief  meal  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  and  afterwards  rests  for  a  little  while.  His  bed- 
room, sitting-room,  and  dining-room  are  rather  cold  in  appearance. 
The  Pope  insists  on  one  of  his  private  secretaries  sleeping  in  the  next 
room,  with  only  the  wall  between,  so  that  at  any  moment  he  may  have 
within  reach  the  consolations  of  religion. 

Of  the  numerous  rooms  on  the  third  story  occupied  by  the  Pope,  only 
one  half  are  fitted  for  occupancy.  The  remainder  are  provided  with 
shelves  and  presses  and  are  used  by  the  Pope  as  store-rooms.  In  the 
latter  the  Pope  keeps,  for  example,  all  the  vestments  for  poor  or  needy 
churches  that  are  presented  to  him,  so  that  he  may  always  have  those 
objects  at  hand  when  he  requires  them.  Two  of  the  sisters  of  the  Holy 
Father  live  in  the  Palazzo  Rusticucci,  situated  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  Colonnades  of  St.  Peter's.  Together  with  a  younger  sister  re- 
cently deceased,  these  kept  house  for  the  Pope  while  he  was  Bishop  of 
Mantua  and  Patriarch  of  Venice.  When  he  became  Pope,  Pius  X 
brought  his  sisters  to  Rome  and  assigned  to  them  a  sim|)le  but  com- 
fortable residence  and  a  modest  but  suflicient  pension.  On  Thursdays 
and  Sundays  the  sisters  are  admitted  into  his  presence  for  an  hour's 
conversation.  When  he  was  seriously  ill  they  naturally  spent  a  long 
period  daily  eithei*  in  the  Antechamber  or  in  his  sick-room. 

Vov  several  hundred  years  it  has  been  customary  for  the  Popes  to 
raise  their  lelatives  to  the  rank  of  Roman  princes  or  to  grant  them 
othei- distinctions.  Leo  Xlll.  foi"  instance,  raised  his  family  to  the  lank 
of  counts,  although  they  had  previously  been  simjjle  country  s<]uii-es. 
Pius  X  completely  ignored  this  custom,  and  left  his  relatives  in  the 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 


33 


r  "I 


Tunrul  loading  to  the  Vatican  Gardens 


M' 


.■»i=,V--i;      j*    . 


^%n 


-    ^aT 


.-^'L'i, 


fwKa^'jk' 


^ 


~-,->^    '<»-'^^- 


Exit  of  Tunnel 


34  THE  VATICAN 

very  simple  and  iiiodcsl  circle  in  \vliieli  lliey  were  born.  He  rii>litly 
l)elieves  that  men  whose  lives  have  been  spent  cultivating  their  fields 
with  their  own  hands  cannot  easily  mix,  and  have  no  desire  to  mix,  in 
fashionable  circles.  ^Yhen  individual  members  of  his  family  come  to 
attend  great  festivities  at  Rome,  a  special  platform  near  the  throne  or 
the  altar  is  assigned  to  them  and  his  sisters.  In  his  intercourse  with 
his  relatives,  his  private  secretary,  or  Venetian  pilgrims,  Pius  X  prefers 
to  use  his  native  Venetian  dialect.  From  his  pronunciation  of  Italian 
one  can  readily  deduce  that  he  comes  of  Venetian  stock. 

In  manner  Pius  X  is  very  sympathetic  and  unaffected.    Despite  the 


Private  Chapel  of  Pope  Pius  X 

exalted  position  of  his  host,  the  visitor  feels  quickly  at  ease,  how- 
ever agitated  or  nervous  he  may  have  been  when  he  entered  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Holy  Father.  With  his  paternal  kindness  he  unites  an  iron 
will  which  refuses  to  be  diverted  from  its  goal  when,  after  constant 
prayer  and  ripe  consideration,  he  has  decided  on  a  definite  course  of 
action. 

Besides  the  pontifical  garments  and  liturgical  vestments  in  general, 
the  distinctive  dre.ss  of  the  Pope  consists  of  a  white  soutane  of  fine 
woolen  material  wilh  double  sleeves  and  cape.  The  cuffs  are  of  white 
moire  silk,  and  a  broad  cincture  of  the  same  material  with  gold  tassels 
encircles   his   waist.      A   white   skull-cap    completes    the    distinctive 


HISTORY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  35 

papal  dress.  Outside  the  palace  the  Pope  wears  a  red  hat  with  gold 
string  and  tassels  and  a  red  mantle  with  a  very  narrow  gold  border. 
The  large  hood  of  red  velvet  lined  with  a  narrow  strip  of  swanskin, 
called  the  camaiiro  (the  ancient  camelaiiciim),  is  never  used  by  Pius  X, 
although  Leo  XIII  wore  it  fairly  frequently.  This  head-dress  is  seen  in 
numerous  pictures  of  the  Renaissance  Popes. 

Advice  to  Visitors.— In  the  summer  months  the  Vatican  Palace  is 
almost  deserted.  Strangers  are  very  few,  while  in  the  Collections 
and  Galleries,  the  Loggie  and  Stanze,  the  Appartamento  and  Chapels 
only  isolated  visitors  may  be  seen.  The  staff  of  the  Antechamber  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  The  heads  of  the  legations  are  all  on  vacation, 
and  what  little  diplomatic  business  there  is  is  discharged  by  the 
younger  agents.  For  two  months  the  Secretary  of  State  lives  in  the 
country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rome,  but  comes  at  regular  intervals 
to  the  city  to  attend  to  pressing  atfairs. 

But  when  the  winter  months  arrive  the  stream  of  strangers  begins  to 
flood  the  palace.    Towards  Easter  a  visitor  to  the  Museums  may  be 
almost  said  to  take  his  life  in  his  hands.    There  the  crowds  push  and 
pull  one  another;  the  air  is  tilled  with  the  most  banal  opinions  of  the 
artistic  treasures:  the  dust  rises  in  clouds,  and  one  wonders  what  brings 
so  many  thousands  of  people  to  view  the  works  of  art,  for  enjoyment 
of  them  is  absolutely  out  of  the  question.    The  mercenary  drone  of  the 
guides  mingles  with  the  loud  conversation  of  the  crowd,  suggesting  to 
the  listener  the  murmur  and  buzzing  of  a  gigantic  hive.    Tlie  hunt  for 
an  invitation  to  an  audience  reaches  its  climax  as  Palm  Sunday  draws 
near,  since  the  Antechamber  is  closed  and  no  audiences  are  granted  in 
Holy  Week.    Every  imaginable  reason  is  made  to  do  service  in  the  hope 
of  securing  this  privilege,  and  the  patience  and  endurance  of  the  Maes- 
tro di  Camera  are  put  to  a  hard  test.    As  the  result  of  extended  experi- 
ence, the  writer  may  offer  one  suggestion  to  intending  visitors:  Never 
visit  Rome  at  Easter,  if  you  wish  to  enjoy  properly  and  peacefully  the 
works  of  art  in  the  city  and  especially  those  of  the  Vatican  Palace.    The 
writer  remembers  well  the  time  when  admission  to  the  Vatican  Collec- 
tions was  free,  as  was  admission  to  most  of  the  State  Museums  in  Rome. 
When,  however,  the  reasonable  regulation  of  charging  a  lira  to  visitors 
was  introduced  for  the  State  Museums,  this  example  was  followed  by 
the  Curia.    The  budget  of  the  Holy  See  was  thereby  relieved  of  no  in- 
significant burden,  since,  owing  to  the  extraordinary  number  of  visi- 
tors, a  sufficient  sum  is  realized  annually  to  pay  for  the  administration 
and  proper  maintenance  of  the  Museums.    As  entrance  to  the  Museums 
is  free  on  Sundays,  the  crowds  of  visitors  on  that  day  are  naturally 
uncomfortably  large. 


36  THE  VATICAN 

Bill  whcihcr  it  is  winter  or  summer;  whether  the  business  to  l)e  done 
is  nuuh  or  little;  whether  the  Vatican  Palace  is  overflooded  with  visi- 
tors ol"  every  nation  and  tongue,  or  seems  to  rest  in  contemplation 
under  the  August  sun;  whether  his  highest  advisers  or  his  humblest 
servants  enjoy  some  relaxaiion  and  the  fresh  breezes  of  the  country  or 
sea,  there  is  little  or  no  variation  in  the  general  life  of  the  Pope,  the 
supreme  lord  of  all.  He  may  not  go  fortli,  however  greatly  he  himself, 
and  more  especially  his  physicians,  may  desire  it.  He  must  remain 
where  he  is;  for  him  there  now  remains  but  one  change,  and  that  will 
come  when  he  is  borne  forth  in  his  cofhn  from  the  \'atican  Palace, 
which  (luring  his  life  as  Pope  he  may  never  leave.  When  he  is  then 
solemnly  carried  to  the  Throne  Room,  when  all  the  impressive  cere- 
monies are  enacted  about  his  corpse,  when  his  last  earthly  dwelling,  the 
small  wooden  house,  has  received  his  remains,  then,  amid  the  solemn 
lamentations  for  the  dead,  the  Pope  will  at  last  leave  his  palace  to  iind 
a  temporary  resting-place  near  the  choir  chapel  in  St.  Peter's,  within 
sight  of  the  grave  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  the  first  of  his  line. 
There  still  lie  the  remains  of  Leo  XIII,  since  the  authorities  do  not  dare 
to  run  the  risk  of  carrying  them  through  the  streets  of  Rome  to  their 
final  and  long-prepared  resting-place  in  the  Lateran. 


THE  VATICAN  GARDENS 


^HE  Vatican  Gardens  lie  to  the  west  of  the  palace,  be- 


tween it  and  the  walls  of  the  ancient  Leonine  City. 
They  are  irregular  in  shape  and  of  an  extensive  area. 
Important  traces  of  the  old  Leonine  Wall  still  remain; 
there  is,  for  instance,  at  the  highest  point  of  the  Gar- 
dens a  battlemented  circular  tower  of  the  usual  medi- 
eval character  (Torre  Leonina).  Fortifications  of  this 
nature  were  built  under  Leo  IV  between  848  and  852, 
xslicii  Ihc  Saracens,  who  held  the  Tyrrhenian  Sea  and  terrorized  the  .sea- 
coast,  made  frequent  incursions  into  the  Papal  States,  laying  waste  the 
country  up  to  the  very  gates  of  Rome.  Thus  originated  the  Leonine 
City,  which  included  not  only  St.  Peter's  but  the  entire  Borgo.  The  old 
walls  were  often  demolished— especially  in  1084,  w^hen  Robert  Guiscard 
drove  the  Emperor,  Henry  IV,  from  Rome,  and  again  in  1379,  when  the 
Roman  people  seized  the  Castel  S.  Angelo.  A  notable  enlargement  took 
place  during  the  sixteenth  century,  under  various  Popes  from  Julius 
II  to  Pius  IV,  when  the  fortifications  were  completely  rebuilt  and 
extended  under  the  best  military  advice,  but  the  old  wall  remained 
even  after  Michelangelo  had  rebuilt  the  bastion  of  the  Belvedere,  and 
served  as  a  boundary  for  the  Vatican  Gardens.  It  was  about  this'time 
that  the  Vatican  Gardens  began,  and  the  print  published  by  Falda  in 
his  work  on  Roman  gardens  shows  them  as  they  existed  in  1683.  By 
comparing  the  print  with  the  present  gardens  we  see  that  the  changes 
that  have  taken  place  are  very  slight. 

While  the  Vatican  Gardens  do  not  compare  in  beauty  with  the  gar- 
dens of  many  Roman  villas  (for  instance,  with  those  of  the  Villa  Fal- 
conieri  or  of  the  Villa  d'Este  at  Tivoli),  they  are  a  very  good  example 
of  Italian  landscape  art  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Two  main  alleys 
at  right  angles  divide  them  into  four  sections,  which  are  subdivided 
by  many  minor  walks,  and  buildings  of  various  shapes  have  been  set 
up  in  different  parts  of  the  gardens.  Near  the  above-mentioned  Torre 
Leonina  stands  the  Casino  of  Leo  XIII;  both  of  these  buildings,  as  well 
as  a  second  tower  of  the  old  fortifications,  are  now  occupied  by  the 
Vatican  Observatory.  Not  far  distant  may  be  seen  a  copy  of  the 
Lourdes  Basilica,  and  a  little  below  a  copy  of  the  Lourdes  Grotto,  set  up 


38  THE  VATICAN 

ill  1905  as  a  gift  of  the  Catholics  of  France.    These  very  modern  con- 
structions have  little  artistic  merit. 

The  Casino  of  Pope  Pius  is  un(h)ul)le(liy  liie  most  important  build- 
ing in  the  gardens,  and  (k'ser\es  special  attention,  (iiovanni  Pietro 
CaralTa,  who  succeeded  Marcellns  11  and  took  the  name  of  Paul  IV,  be- 
gan the  "fabbrica  del  boschetto"  ("building  in  the  wood"),  or  "Bosca- 
reggio,"  a  small  house  in  the  Vatican  Gardens  beyond  the  broad  Belve- 
dere alley.    It  had  a  fountain,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter  written  in  1558 


Corner  of  the  Vatican  Gardens  and  Cupola  of  St.  Peter's 

by  an  envoy  of  the  Signory  of  Florence,  and  a  print  by  Marius  Kartarus, 
dated  1574,  showing  the  Belvedere  Garden.  In  the  |)apal  registers  for 
15r)0  there  appears  a  payment  to  a  stone-cutter,  Domenico  Rosselli,  for 
work  done  on  the  new  papal  building. 

In  December,  1559,  the  Milanese  Gian  Angelo  Medici  became  Pope, 
and  look  the  name  of  Pius  IV.  In  the  words  of  the  Venetian  ambas- 
sador, "he  was  very  fond  of  building,  spent  liberally,  took  great 
pleasmx"  in  hearing  his  work  praised,  and  was  wont  to  say  that  the 
Medici  House  was  a  house  of  builders."  In  15(50  work  on  the  (Casino 
was  renewed  with  vigor,  and  among  the  papal  bills  we  find  payments 


THE  VATICAN  GARDENS 


39 


f**^ 


The  Torre  Leonina 


to  the  architects  Pirro  Ligorio  and 
Salustio  Periizzi,  to  the  superin- 
tendent Bernardino  Manfredi,  to 
the  foreman  mason  P'rancesco  da 
Como,  and  to  a  host  of  stone-cut- 
ters, carpenters,  and  plasterers. 
Rocco  da  Montefiascone  worked 
at  the  stucco  work  of  the  facade 
and  the  vault  of  the  portico. 
Nicolo  Bresciano  had  charge  of 
the  marble  pavement.  Battista  da 
Frasino  worked  on  the  roof  within. 
Among  other  artists  at  work  were 
the  sculptor  Tommaso  del  Bosco 
of  Montepulciano,  Giovanni  di  S. 
Agata,  who  made  the  marble  basin 
in  the  middle  of  the  piazza,  and 
Jacobo  da  Casignola  and  Bene- 
detto Schella,  who  took  part  in  the 
decorations.  The  first  of  the  paint- 
ers came  in  1561.  This  was  Pietro  Venale.  Then  came  Giovanni  da 
Cherso  Veneziano.  Santi  di  Tito  (or  Santi  del  Borgo),  Pier  Antonio 
Alciati  da  Como,  Federico  Zuccaro  da  S.  Angelo  in  Vadis,  Pierleone  da 
Giulio,  Genga  da  Urbino,  and,  greatest  of  all,  Federico  Barocci  da 
Urbino,  who  appears  to  have  w^orked  at  the  Casino  from  November, 
1561,  till  June,  1563.  Much  of  the  work  was  still  unfinished  when  Pius 
IV  died  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Ghisleri  Pope,  St.  Pius  V,  whose  coat 
of  arms  may  be  seen  in  many  parts  of  the  Casino,  as  are  also  the  arms 
of  the  Castagna  Pope,  Urban  VII,  and  the  Barberini  Pope,  Urban  VIII. 
Under  Pope  Clement  XI  Albani  the  work  was  redone,  and  additions 
were  made  by  Benedict  XIII,  Clement  XIII,  and  Leo  XII. 

Chief  credit  for  this  exquisite  building  belongs  to  Pirro  Ligorio,  the 
architect,  a  man  who  has  a  sorry  record  in  other  ways.  Ligorio  was 
not  satisfied  to  be  an  architect,  but  dabbled  in  archaeology,  the  history 
of  ancient  monuments,  and  particularly  in  epigraphy.  In  this  last 
field  he  is  famous  as  a  bold  forger.  He  was  born  in  Naples:  Lancianl 
gives  the  year  as  1527,  while  Hiilsen  says  1510.  At  any  rate,  we  find 
him  in  Rome  in  1542  doing  some  fresco  work  on  the  palace  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Benevento,  Francesco  delta  Rovere.  Between  1549  and 
1555  he  was  in  the  service  of  Cardinal  Ippolito  da  Ferrara  as  an  anti- 
quarian with  a  salary  of  seven  scudi  sixty-three  baiocchi  a  month. 
Under  Paul  IV  he  became  official  architect  of  the  Papal  Court  at  a 


40 


THE  VATICAN 


Cirofto  of  I-()iir(ies 


The  Chalet  and  T<iin    l.,.iniri;, 


THE  VATICAN  GARDENS 


41 


.r  I.e..  Mil 


salary  of  twenty-five  golden  scudi 
a  month.  He  held  this  post  also 
under  Pius  IV  in  association  with 
Salustio  Peruzzi,  son  of  the  famous 
Baldassarre.  From  this  period 
dates  his  work  in  the  Cortile  di 
Belvedere, the  Gran  Nicchione,and 
the  Casino  of  Pope  Pius.  In  1566 
he  made  a  design  for  the  tomb  of 
Pope  Paul  IV,  which  is  adorned  by 
a  statue  of  Giacomo  Casignola, 
now  in  S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva.  In 
1567  he  was  at  Tivoli  in  the  service 
of  the  d'Estes,  working  on  their 
magnificent  gardens,  which  are 
among  the  most  beautiful  ever 
planned.  Afterwards  he  accom- 
panied Duke  Alfonso  d'Este  to 
Ferrara,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death  in  October,  1583. 

Ligorio  was  not  a  great  architect,  and  his  work  in  the  Vatican  Gar- 
dens is  said  to  be  a  copy  from  the  antique.  In  1766  Venuti  wrote:  "This 
Casino  is  a  copy  from  the  antique  made  by  Pirro  Ligorio,  a  Neapolitan 
antiquarian  and  architect.  The  original  stood  near  the  Lake  of 
Gabinio,  and  was  built  by  the  Romans  so  that  they  might  enjoy  the 
pleasant  view  of  the  waters.  Ligorio  copied  its  plan,  and  as  recently 
as  sixty  years  ago  the  ruins  of  the  original  were  still  to  be  seen."  There 
is  probably  some  exaggeration  here.  The  Casino  does  not  differ  con- 
siderably from  many  other  summer  houses  built  at  the  close  of  the 
Renaissance  period,  the  chief  of  which  are  Caprarola  and  the  Villa  of 
Pope  Julius.  These  were  all  light  and  gracious  but  not  over-pretentious 
structures,  and  very  pleasant  places  to  spend  a  day  in. 

The  interior  plan  consists  of  a  somewhat  elongated  oval  courtyard. 
Arched  entrances  reached  by  steps  lie  at  the  ends;  on  one  side  is  a 
Loggia  overlooking  a  fountain,  while  on  the  other  is  the  vestibule 
proper  of  the  Casino.  A  simple  balustrade  runs  round  the  courtyard; 
behind  this  balustrade,  on  each  side  of  the  Casino,  is  a  wall  with  deco- 
rative arches.  The  arched  entrances  form  two  rectangular  rooms 
adorned  with  niches.  The  walls  are  covered  with  graceful  multicol- 
ored mosaics  in  classic  style,  and  the  barrelled  vaulting  is  covered  with 
stucco  work.  In  the  centre  of  the  courtyard  stands  a  fountain,  at  either 
end  of  which  is  a  boy  riding  a  dolphin. 


42  THE  VATICAN 

Tlie  two  most  important  architectural  features  are  the  facades  of 
the  Logi^ia  and  the  Casino,  whicli  are  symmetrical,  and  have  on  the 
grounci  lloor  the  same  architeclurai  arrangemenls — a  Doric  portico 
witli  four  columns.  Hanked  hy  heavy  masonry.  The  Loggia  has  no 
upper  lloor,  but  consists  of  a  single  hall  and  terminates  on  each  side  in 
an  apse.  In  front,  above  the  ground  floor,  runs  a  great  stucco  frieze, 
and  above  this  a  triangular  tympanum.  The  Casino,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  two  upper  lloors  separated  by  (Jreek  cornices.    The  facade  also  is 


UtLtpliou  UoDiii  in  tlif  Casino  of  Leo  XIII 

over-decorated  with  stuccos,  alto-reliefs,  and  statues  in  niches.  The 
interior  of  the  Casino  proper  is  very  simple.  Beyond  the  vestibule  lie 
two  rooms,  one  leading  into  the  other.  On  one  side  of  the  second  room 
is  a  small  hall,  and  on  the  other  a  staircase  which  leads  both  to  the  story 
above  and  to  the  basement.  The  upper  floor  is  laid  out  in  the  same 
manner.  This  simple  architectural  plan  lends  itself  to  tiie  sum|)tuous 
I)ictorial  decoration.  The  stucco  work  by  Uocco,  the  gilding  by  Venale. 
and  the  paintings  by  Zuccaro  are  in  the  Loggelta.  The  two  rooms  on 
the  ground  door  were  decorated  by  Barocci,  (ienga,  and  their  pupils. 
Above  the  staircase  are  paintings  by  Santi  di  Tito,  who  also  decorated 


THE  VATICAN  GARDENS  43 

one  of  the  rooms  above;  the  other  room  of  the  upper  floor  was  done 
by  Zucchero  and  Giovanni  da  Clierso. 

Barocci's  work  enjoys  a  great  celebrity  to-day,  and  calls  for  par- 
ticular notice.  Barocci  was  born  in  1526  at  Urbino,  and  there  painted 
his  earliest  works:  St.  Margaret  in  the  Confraternit}^  Chapel  of  the 
Corpus  Domini,  and  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian  and  St.  Cecilia  in 
the  Cathedral.  According  to  Bellori,  his  biographer,  he  fell  early  under 
the  influence  of  Correggio,  and  from  him  learned  that  "smoky  man- 


The  Sala  Rotunda  in  the  Torre  Leonina 

ner"  which  is  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  his  paintings.  In  1561 
he  was  at  work  on  the  Boscareggio  with  Federico  Zuccaro.  In  1569  he 
painted  one  of  his  masterpieces,  the  Descent  from  the  Cross,  at 
Perugia;  and  in  later  years  he  produced  the  Madonna  di  S.  Simone  and 
the  Louvre  Madonna. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  in  detail  the  paintings  in  the  first  room, 
where  Barocci  did  so  much,  and  the  arabesques  and  the  figures  which 
compose  them.  Besides  the  Boys  and  the  Virtues  grouped  in  the  cor- 
ners, which  are  well  executed,  the  Holy  Family  in  the  central  panel 
is  noteworthy,  as  also  are  the  surrounding  paintings  representing  the 


44  THE  VATICAN 

Baptism  of  Christ,  the  Meeting  with  the  Samaritan  Woman,  and  the 
Woman  taken  in  Adultery.  In  the  second  room  the  central  medallion 
of  the  Annunciation  is  also  the  work  of  Barocci.  The  staircase  decora- 
tions have  in  the  middle  the  arms  of  Pius  IV,  and  around  these  are 
grouped  four  medallions  with  figures  and  fo-ar  views:  the  whole  is  the 


Bid-rooin  of  Leo  XHl  ailjoining  tlu'  Torre  Lconina 

work  of  Santi  di  Tito.  The  views  introduced  in  the  decorations  are: 
one  of  (he  Casino  itself,  one  of  Monte  Cavallo,  one  of  the  \'ia  Flaminia, 
and  one  of  the  Gran  Nicchione. 

The  paintings  in  the  following  room  are  also  by  Santi  di  Tito.  The 
central  medallion  shows  Jesus  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  the 
four  paintings  on  the  four  walls  are  the  Way  to  Calvary  (on  the  north 
wall ),  the  Last  Supper  (on  the  south),  the  Ascension  (on  the  west),  and 
Christ  appearing  to  a  Monk  (on  the  east).  In  the  corners,  among  other 
decorations,  are  some  very  beautiful  female  figures.  The  gallery  is 
decorated  with  arabesques,  like  those  executed  by  Giovanni  da  Udine 
in  the  \'alican  Loggie. 

Besides  the  main  garden  there  are  other  smaller  ones  within  the 
precincts  of  the  Vatican.  One  of  these  is  known  as  Ihe  Pigna  Garden, 
and  was  formerly  pari  of  the  old  Cortile  di  Belvedere.    .\n  important 


THE  VATICAN  GARDENS 


45 


Courtyard  of  the  Casino  of  Pius  IV 

feature  of  this  garden  is  the  Gran  Nicchione  built  by  Bramante;  in 
front  of  this  is  set  up  the  bronze  pine-cone  which  has  given  its  name  to 
the  Cortile.  Its  preservation  is  due  to  Pope  Symmachus,  who  set  it  up 
as  an  ornament  in  the  middle  of  the  quadri-porticus  in  front  of  old 
St.  Peter's.  Here  it  was  seen  bv  Dante,  who  refers  to  it  in  Canto  xxi  of 
his  "Inferno": 

"La  faccia  sua  mi  parea  lunga  e  grossa 
Come  la  pina  di  San  Pietro  a  Roma." 

When  St.  Peter's  was  rebuilt,  the  gigantic  pine-cone  was  brought  to  the 
garden  near  the  Palace  of  Innocent  VIII  in  the  Belvedere,  and  there  it 
remained  until  it  was  erected  near  the  Nicchione  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  It  is  the  work  of  Publius  Cincius  Salvius  Libertus,  and  rests 
on  a  capital,  on  which  is  represented  the  coronation  and  acclamation 
of  a  victorious  prize-fighter. 

The  Vatican  Palaces  were  joined  together  by  Bramante  in  the  days 
of  Julius  II.  "That  Pontiff  had  an  idea,"  says  Vasari,  "to  make  use  of 
the  space  between  the  Belvedere  and  the  Palace."  The  small  valley 
lying  between  the  buildings  of  the  old  palace  was  to  be  formed  into  a 
rectangular  court,  flanked  by  two  long  corridors  through  which  one 


TlIK  VATICAN 


Loggia  or  CafTeaos  opposite  thf  Casino  of  Pius  IV 

could  proceed  from  the  palace  to  the  Belvedere.  The  work  was  begun 
in  1503,  and  Vasari  gives  us  a  description  of  the  Cortile,  the  Nicchione, 
the  fountains,  the  stairs,  and  the  strange  inscriptions  with  which  the 
famous  architect  decorated  the  l)uildings.  Besides  the  pine-cone,  of 
which  \vc  have  just  spoken,  this  garden  is  decorated  with  various  other 
anti(iuitics.  It  is  suflicient  to  state  here  tiial  Ihc  work  on  tiic  Pigna 
Garden  was  brought  to  a  close  by  Pirro  Ligorio,  the  architect  who  had 
charge  of  the  Casino  of  Pope  Pius.  The  Cortile  lias  a  rather  mean 
appearance  to-day,  but  formerly  it  was  an  imposing  place,  as  is  shown 
by  the  above-mentioned  print  of  Falda.     (Cf.  p.  2S. ) 

The  second  Vatican  Cortile  of  note  from  an  artistic  point  of  view  is 
the  Octagonal  Court,  so  called  from  its  shape.  An  octagonal  peristyle 
on  aniicpie  columns  was  erected  for  Clement  XIV  by  the  architect 
Michelangelo  Simoneiti,  and  in  it  were  gathered  many  coi)ies  of  an- 
ticpies.  Inscriptions  and  bas-reliefs  were  placed  on  the  walls,  and 
outside  the  porticoes  in  the  open  air  many  ancient  sarcophagi  are  cov- 
ered by  the  clinging  ivy.  In  the  centre  is  a  small  fountain,  and  on  the 
four  shorter  sides  of  the  octagon  are  four  little  rooms  in  which  are 
contained  the  more  precious  objects  of  art. 


THE  VATICAN  GARDENS 


47 


The  Casino  of  Pius  IV 


Famous  in  history  were  the  old  Roman  gardens,  the  Horti  Agrip- 
pinse,  along  the  Via  Cornelia,  which  contained  a  portico  and  a  circus 
known  as  the  Gaianus,  after  its  builder.  All  that  remains  of  it  is  the 
obelisk  which  formerly  adorned  the  circus,  but  is  now  in  front  of  St. 
Peter's.  Traces  of  these  gardens  were  found  when  St.  Peter's  was  being 
rebuilt,  and  both  then  and  on  other  occasions  many  pagan  and  Chris- 
tian tombs  were  discovered  along  the  line  of  the  okl  Via  Cornelia  to 
the  north  of  the  Horti  Agrippinse.  A  large  part  of  these  old  gardens 
was  enclosed  within  the  wall  erected  by  Leo  IV  to  protect  the  Leonine 
City  against  the  invasions  of  the  Saracens.  The  length  of  the  wall  was 
about  three  thousand  metres,  and  its  height  varied  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-two.  Two  inscriptions  on  the  arch  of  the  Via  di  Porta  Angelica 
give  us  some  information  concerning  the  troops  that  defended  Rome 
in  those  days.  There  were  three  gateways  and  two  postern  doors  in 
the  wall  of  the  Leonine  City.  The  first  was  St.  Peter's  Gate,  which 
opened  on  the  Elio  Bridge  under  the  bastion  of  Castel  S.  Angelo;  the 
second  was  the  Postern  of  S.  Angelo,  which  agreed  more  or  less  wath 
the  modern  Porta  Castello;  the  third  was  the  Porta  Sancti  Peregrini, 
which  coincided  with  the  Porta  Angelica;  the  fourth  was  the  Porta  in 
Turrione,  which  coincided  with  the  Porta  Cavalleggeri;  finally,  there 


48  THE  VATICAN 

was  the  Postern  of  the  Saxons,  which  Antonio  da  SangaUo  changed  into 
the  monumental  Porta  di  Santo  Spirito. 

When  Anionio  (hi  Sangallo,  under  Paul  HI,  extended  and  rebuilt  the 
precinct  of  Rome  near  the  Vatican,  the  Vatican  (jardens  took  their 
present  shape  and  area.  They  date  from  an  era  of  prosperity  in  the 
Roman  Court — a  happy  epoch  when  art  flourished,  and  when  every- 
where in  Italy  gardens  wei"e  being  made  Dial  were  to  be  models  for  all 
lands.  And,  though  to-day  they  ai"e  more  often  passed  over  and  for- 
gotten by  visitors,  they  still  bear  traces  of  their  former  beauty  and 
greatness. 


Part  Two 
THE  STATE  APARTMENTS  AND  CHAPELS 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  NICHOLAS  V 

^s^?5^^^1x  the  year  1445,  Fra  Angelico,  already  famous,  was 
-: :  ■r',0!i»ijK»'*>w-f'tfe;'|  called  to  Rome.  His  delightful  artistic  creations  in 
the  Convent  of  St.  Dominic  at  Fiesole  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  frescoed  visions  with  which  he  adorned 
the  walls  of  the  Convent  of  St.  Mark,  Florence,  and 
his  success  there,  as  Vasari  says,  had  won  him  fame 
,  throughout  all  Italy.    But  Vasari  is  mistaken  when  he 

^^S^^s^:!^  tells  us  that  to  Nicholas  V  belongs  the  credit  of  having 
called  Fra  Angelico  to  Rome,  and  he  is  likewise  mistaken  when  he  says 
that  the  Pope  offered  the  artist  the  archbishopric  of  Florence,  which 
was  modestly  refused.  It  was  Eugene  IV  who  called  Fra  Angelico  to 
Rome  to  paint  the  Sacrament  Chapel,  which  was  pulled  down  later  by 
Pope  Paul  III  and  redecorated  by  Michelangelo.  According  to  Vasari, 
Fra  Angelico  painted  in  the  Sacrament  Chapel  a  few  scenes  from  the 
life  of  Christ,  into  which  he  introduced  portraits  of  many  famous 
contemporaries.  A  year  after  the  coming  of  the  painter  to  Rome,  Pope 
Eugene  died,  but  his  successor,  Nicholas  V,  equally  appreciative  of 
Angelico's  work,  called  on  him  to  decorate  the  private  oratory  which 
he  used  as  a  workroom  and  study,  and  which  is  now  known  as  the 
Cappella  Nicolina.  When  P'ra  Angelico  went  to  Rome,  he  did  not  go 
alone.  With  him  went  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  who  had  helped  him  at  St. 
Mark's  in  Florence,  and  who  accompanied  him  in  1447  to  Orvieto, 
where  they  painted  the  Chapel  of  St.  Brigit  in  the  Cathedral,  in  accor- 
dance with  an  agreement  with  Messer  Enrico  Monaldeschi,  Lord  of 
Orvieto.  It  was  after  September  28,  1447,  that  Angelico  undertook  the 
decoration  of  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V,  and,  in  spite  of  all  that  the 
people  of  Orvieto  could  do,  the  painter  refused  to  leave  Rome  again 
and  return  to  their  city.  Why,  we  do  not  know.  In  the  registers  of  the 
Vatican  Treasury,  which  have  been  carefully  investigated  by  Miintz, 
there  is  a  record  of  all  payments  made  to  the  artist  up  to  1449.  On 
January  10,  1450,  we  find  Angelico  prior  of  his  convent  at  Florence; 
and  in  1452  the  head  of  the  Commune  of  Prato  called  on  Archbishop 
Antonino  to  use  his  influence  to  persuade  the  artist  to  undertake  the 
decoration  of  the  principal  chapel  in  their  cathedral.  Fra  Angelico 
refused,  and  the  work  was  carried  out  by  Fra  Filippo  Lippi.    It  is  prob- 

i  51  3 


52 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Ceiling  of  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V 
(Fra  Angelico) 

able  that  Fra  Angelico  did  some  work  in  Rome  after  1449,  but  the 
records  make  no  mention  of  it. 

In  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V  Fra  Angelico  has  painted  the  Calling, 
the  Apostolate,  and  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen  and  of  St.  Lau- 
rence. The  chapel,  as  Venturi  tells  us,  is  painted  to  resemble  a 
room  decorated  for  a  feast-day.  Garlands  of  laurel  leaves  and  red  flow- 
ers divide  the  ceiling  into  four  sections,  separate  the  ditferent  scenes 
in  the  lives  of  the  saints,  and  serve  as  the  frame  for  the  two  arcades 
which  lie  respectively  above  the  window  and  the  door.  In  the  vaultings 
above  the  door  and  the  window  are  Sts.  Ambrose  and  Augustine,  and 
Gregory  and  Leo  respectively;  on  the  pilasters  beside  the  door  and  the 
window  are  Sts.  Thomas  Aquinas  and  Bonaventure,  Chrysostom  and 
Athanasius.  On  the  roof,  in  a  starry  blue  sky,  are  the  Evangelists, 
enthroned  on  clouds,  and  on  the  walls  the  stories  of  Sts.  Stephen  and 
Laurence  are  told  in  two  parallel  series  of  paintings,  the  series  dealing 
with  St.  Stephen  being  above  and  that  dealing  with  St.  Laurence  below. 

In  the  first  picture  St.  Stephen  is  ordained  priest.  The  interior  of  a 
church  is  shown;  St.  Peter,  to  the  left,  is  standing  on  the  altar  steps,  in 
a  green  robe  with  a  yellow  cape,  handing  the  chalice  and  paten  to  St. 
Stephen,  who  kneels  before  him.    Behind  the  Saint,  six  persons  assist 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  NICHOLAS  V 


53 


SI.    TllMllKls     .\.|"il 

(I'l-a  Aiigc'lko) 


St.  Bonaventur*-' 
(Fra   AilKt'lioo) 


The  Ordination  of  St.  Stephen  St.   Stephen  Distributes  Alms 

(Fra  Angelico) 


54 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Soirnnn  of  St.  Stephen 


(Fra  Angelico) 


Wi.i*      I         'Will  ■  -  ^^■^^■^f*! 

St.  Steplien  Disputes  with  the  Judges 


at  the  scene.  The  whole  has  neither  the  solemnity  of  Giotto  nor  the 
force  of  Masaccio,  but  it  expresses  an  ardent  spirit  of  brotherly  love 
and  deep  religious  fervor. 

In  the  second  scene  the  Saint  is  distributing  alms.  He  is  standing  in 
a  gray  robe  and  yellow  mantle,  and  is  giving  a  coin  to  a  woman  who 
extends  her  hand.  Beside  him  stands  a  deacon,  and  before  him  are 
seen  some  beggars  and  other  persons  against  a  background  showing  a 
dim  Oriental  landscape. 

The  third  picture  contains  two  distinct  events.  To  the  left,  the  Saint 
is  seen  preaching  on  a  public  square  to  a  group  of  women  seated  on  the 
ground,  while  the  picture  to  the  right  shows  him  disputing  with  the 
judges  in  the  synagogue.  The  two  events  are  kept  distinct  in  the  pic- 
ture by  means  of  intervening  architectural  features,  a  plan  employed 
by  Angelico  in  the  Brancacci  Chapel  and  in  a  fresco  at  St.  Mark's  where 
Christ  is  shown  in  the  (larden. 

The  last  scene  in  the  history  of  the  Protomartyr  shows  his  death:  he 
has  been  dragged  outside  Jerusalem,  and  is  being  stoned  by  two  false 
witnesses  in  the  presence  of  a  crowd  of  curious  onlookers. 

Beautiful  as  are  these  scenes,  they  are  not  quite  so  well  balanced  or 
construcledas  thescenes  from  thelifeofSt.Laurencein  the  panels  below. 


THE  CHAPP:L  of  NICHOLAS  V  55 

In  the  first  the  Saint  is  ordained  Deacon.  In  the  centre  aisle  of  a  large 
basilica,  Pope  Nicholas  V  is  represented  as  Sixtus  II,  wearing  the  tiara 
and  a  blue  dalmatic.  He  is  seated  surrounded  by  priests,  and  is  giving 
the  chalice  to  Laurence.  The  heads  in  this  painting  are  marvellously 
executed,  and  seem  to  be  portraits  of  earnest,  deeply  religious  men. 

In  the  second  picture  the  Pope  is  entrusting  to  Laurence  the  treasures 
of  the  Church  for  distribution  in  alms.  The  scene  is  laid  in  the  court- 
yard of  a  palace.    The  Pope  comes  from  a  large  door  and  blesses  Lau- 


St.  Stephen   Dragged  out   tt(  .Teni.salem 


St.  Stephen  Stoned  to  Deatli 


(Fra  Angclico) 


rence,  who  is  kneeling  before  him,  while  servants  bear  the  treasures  in 
trays.  One  of  the  Pope's  companions  turns  suddenly  in  surprise  at  the 
noise  of  the  soldiery  who  are  trying  to  break  in  the  door  of  the  Pope's 
dwelling.    The  whole  scene  is  graphic  and  thrills  with  life. 

In  the  third  scene  Laurence  is  shown  distributing  the  treasures  to 
the  poor.  Through  an  open  door  you  see  a  spacious  basilica  with  three 
naves;  on  the  door-step  stands  Laurence  in  gorgeous  priestly  robes, 
holding  a  purse  in  his  hands  from  which  he  is  in  the  act  of  giving  alms. 
Around  him  are  grouped  the  afflicted  in  the  most  natural  of  poses:  a 
blind  man  taps  the  ground  with  his  stick;  an  old  man  with  a  long  beard 
bends  over  to  hold  out  his  hand;  a  mother  clasps  her  babe  to  her  bosom, 
and  a  lame  man  leans  on  his  crutch.  The  faces  of  all  are  lighted  up 
with  joy  at  sight  of  the  Saint's  charity. 


56 


THE  VATICAN 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  NICHOLAS  V 

the  Saint  is 


57 


sti  il.utfs  the  Tm 
among  the  Poor 
(Fra  AngeHco) 


In  the  next  scene 
dragged  before  the  Emperor.  De- 
cius,  clad  in  a  rich  robe,  sits  on  his 
throne;  at  his  feet  are  the  instru- 
ments of  torture,  to  which  he 
points  imperiously.  Laurence  is 
held  by  a  soldier,  while  a  crowd  of 
frightened  people  listen  to  the  sen- 
tence. The  background  shows  an 
architectural  design  behind  which 
rise  the  tops  of  exotic  trees.  The 
study  of  ancient  art  is  very  marked 
in  this  scene.  In  the  architecture 
we  discern  beautiful  Classical 
motives — leaf-work,  capitals,  and 
friezes  in  the  architraves.  The 
architectural  detail  is  correct  in 
every  way,  the  soldiers'  armor  is 
just  as  accurately  drawn,  and  the 
bust  of  Decius  seems  to  have  been 
copied  from  an  ancient  statue. 
A  breath  of  the  greatness  that  was  Rome  pervades  the  whole  work. 

The  last  scene  depicts  the  Saint's  martyrdom.  Behind  the  window 
bars  of  his  prison  we  see  Laurence  consoling  his  jailer,  while  on  a 
terrace  without  the  Emperor  and  his  retinue  assist  at  the  execution. 
In  the  foreground  the  executioners  are  lighting  the  lire  under  the  grate 
on  which  the  Saint  is  stretched,  and  three  assistants  laugh  at  his  torture. 
Venturi  was  right  when  he  considered  this  picture  the  most  powerful 
in  the  chapel.  He  points  out  that  the  artist,  to  bring  out  his  figures, 
heightened  his  tints  and  displays  a  vigor  quite  unusual  in  his  work. 
Here  also  the  influence  of  Classical  art  is  clear.  The  tribune  is  deco- 
rated with  niches  between  the  pilasters,  and  there  are  statues  in  the 
niches;  one  of  the  statues  carries  a  column,  a  symbol  of  strength.  The 
whole  scene  is  beautified  by  that  historical  sentiment  which  the  saintly 
artist  had  imbibed  from  his  study  of  Roman  monuments.  As  Venturi 
says,  Laurence  on  the  Gridiron  is  like  a  fallen  gladiator;  from  Byzan- 
tine times,  indeed,  we  see  the  martyrs  represented  raising  up  their  right 
hands  towards  the  tyrant  who  looks  down  on  them  from  his  tribune. 

These  paintings  must  be  placed  among  the  last  works  of  Fra  An- 
gelico.  After  them  we  have  nothing  but  the  painting  of  St.  Bonaven- 
ture  in  the  Wood  in  the  Osservanza  Church  near  Mugello,  although  he 
was  perhaps  the  guiding  mind  behind  the  Armadi  (cupboards)  in  the 


58 


THE  VATICAN 


THE  CHAPEL  OE  NICHOLAS  V  59 

Annunziata  Chapel  built  by  Pietro  de  Medici.  These  paintings,  then, 
that  make  up  the  last  testament  of  the  artist,  are  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting pages  in  the  history  of  art.  All  the  qualities  that  go  to  make  up 
the  Angelic  painter's  art  are  here  in  their  entirety,  together  with  others 
of  which  he  had  previously  given  no  sign.  The  accent  of  pure  truth 
which  characterizes  all  his  creations  is  here  enhanced  by  a  freshness 
of  minute  observation  which  shows  us  the  good  monk  in  a  new  light, 
reveals  him  as  a  gifted  observer  of  realities,  and  links  him  with  the 
naturalistic  school  which  was  then  in  vogue  in  Elorence,  but  from 
which  he  had  previously  kept  aloof.  We  see  him  also  as  a  close  student 
of  Classical  antiquity  and  a  restorer  of  ancient  beauty  in  so  far  as  his 
deep-rooted  faith  allowed  him  to  dwell  on  secular  things.  This  phase 
of  his  development  we  might  least  have  expected  to  find  in  the  painter 
of  Paradise. 

The  influence  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli  has  been  seen  by  some  in  these 
changes  in  Angelico's  art.  Gozzoli  may  have  had  a  hand  in  the  deco- 
rative portions  of  the  paintings,  particularly  in  the  finely  executed 
borders  wherein  beautiful  roses  appear  at  intervals  among  the  intri- 
cacies of  the  leaves,  and  also  in  the  garlands  which  rest  on  the  charming 
heads  of  the  boys,  and  in  the  medallions  showing  the  tiara  and  keys 
of  Nicholas  V.  Furthermore,  Gozzoli  may  have  had  charge  of  certain 
details,  and  there  is  a  likeness  between  the  background  of  his  Assump- 
tion in  the  Vatican  Picture  Gallery  and  the  background  of  the  scene 
where  Laurence  appears  before  the  Emperor  Decius.  It  is,  however, 
a  very  far  cry  from  Gozzoli,  as  we  see  him  at  Montefaico,  to  Angelico. 
If  by  any  chance  he  does  for  a  moment  grasp  the  movement  of  the 
master's  figures,  the  result  in  his  hands  is  rough  and  gross;  the  exter- 
nals only  have  been  caught,  for  the  soul  of  Angelico  always  escapes 
him.  In  the  matter  of  color  the  difference  is  equally  great.  The  colors 
of  Angelico  are  pure  and  spiritual;  those  of  Gozzoli  are  heavy,  full  and 
realistic.  To  explain  the  change  in  Angelico's  later  style  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  introduce  the  influence  of  Gozzoli.  It  was  a  natural  change  in 
the  style  of  a  mystical  artist  forced  by  the  very  nature  of  his  subject 
to  deal  with  realities  and  reacted  on  by  the  things  he  saw.  We  have 
here,  then,  the  fully  developed  Angelico — Angelico  in  the  fullest  con- 
trol of  his  genius  and  with  the  serenity  of  his  vision  unimpaired. 
His  ecstatic  soul  had  previously  found  no  outlet  as  full  and  free  as  in 
this  chapel.  In  the  Coronation  at  the  Llffizi,  in  the  tabernacle  of  the 
Linaiolo,  in  the  paintings  at  St.  Mark's,  the  artistic  dreamer  had  free 
rein,  his  subject  lending  itself  naturally  to  his  ecstatic  visions.  But  in 
the  paintings  of  this  chapel  the  mystic  is  face  to  face  with  the  realities 
of  daily  life,  and  a  new^  phase  of  his  soul  is  lighted  up,  showing  him  to 


60  THE  VATICAN 

be  the  greatest  of  all  religious  painters — namely,  a  mystic  who  remains 
a  mystic  even  when  recording  with  his  brush  the  humble  happenings  of 
earth.  Who  can  forget  the  look  on  the  faces  of  the  women  in  prayer 
listening  to  the  words  of  St.  Stephen,  or  the  gesture  of  the  blind  man 
poking  his  way  along  the  road  with  the  aid  of  his  stick,  or  the  children 
quarrelling,  or  the  mother  clasping  her  babe  in  her  arms?  When  we 
remember  the  age  of  the  artist  at  the  time  he  wrought  these  master- 
pieces, we  can  hardly  refrain  from  the  astonishment  which  we  feel  in 
the  Pauline  Chapel  when  we  stand  before  the  wonders  executed  there 
by  Michelangelo.  Both  artists  show  that  they  retained  to  the  end  the 
power  of  execution  and  the  creative  gift. 

If  Angelico  is  the  last  of  the  idealists  of  the  Florentine  School  (and 
the  few  who  follow,  follow  indeed  afar  off),  his  work  is  precious  not 
alone  because  it  perpetuates  a  type  of  ideal  vision  in  an  age  of  realism 
and  naturalism,  but  because  of  the  lessons  which  it  transmitted  to  ages 
far  removed  from  his  own.  When  Melozzo  da  Forli,  in  1477,  painted 
Pope  Sixtus  IV  in  the  act  of  creating  Bartolomeo  Sacchi,  known  as  II 
Platina,  Prefect  of  the  Vatican  Library,  he  did  nothing  but  call  up  to 
memory  the  scene  painted  by  Fra  Angelico  in  this  chapel,  depicting  the 
ordination  of  St.  Laurence  by  Sixtus  11. 

It  was  to  Rome  that  Angelico  left  his  last  work,  and  it  was  in  Rome, 
the  heart  of  Christendom,  that  he  died,  in  1455,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight 
years.  He  lies  buried  in  S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva,  in  the  convent  of  his 
Order,  and  on  the  slab  of  his  tomb  his  ascetic  figure  is  carved  together 
with  an  epitaph  said  to  be  the  work  of  Pope  Nicholas  himself: 

"Non  mihi  sit  laudi,  quod  eram  velut  alter  Apelles, 
Sed  quod  lucra  tuis  omnia,  Christe,  dabam; 
Altera  nam  terris  opera  extant,  altera  coelo. 
Urbs  me  lohannem  Flos  tulit  Etriiria'." 

"Say  not  in  my  praise  that  I  was  a  second  Apelles;  my  only  glory, 
0  Christ,  is  that  I  gave  to  my  brethren  what  my  works  brought  to  me. 
Thus  earth  keeps  one  portion  of  my  work,  but  the  rest  is  laid  up  in 
heaven.  John  was  my  name,  and  my  native  town  was  the  Flower  of 
Etruria." 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


^!^s  it  stands  to-day,  the  Sistine  Chapel  difTers  somewhat 
="-  from  the  work  begun  about  1493  by  Giovannino  de' 
Dolci  {Dominiis  et  vir  honorobilis),  at  the  request  of 
Pope  Sixtus  IV.  For  instance,  the  end  wall,  where 
the  famous  Last  Judgment  of  Michelangelo  now 
stands,  held  originally  a  pair  of  windows,  and  the 
roof  where  the  giant  figures  of  the  Sibyls  and  the 
Prophets  are  to  be  seen  was  once  a  blue-tinted  sky 
dolled  witii  gold  stars.  Of  the  original  Palatine  Chapel,  which  was 
built  at  the  order  of  Nicholas  III  in  1278  near  the  Vatican  Palace  and 
gave  wajf  eventually  to  the  Patriarchio  Lateranense,  we  know  very  lit- 
tle; but  at  least  we  may  picture  it  as  having  been  rich  in  painting  and 
sculpture.  It  was  then  the  heyday  of  the  arts  in  Rome.  The  Cosmati, 
the  Vassalletti,  and  Pietro  Cavallini  and  his  school  were  bringing  about 
a  renaissance  which  anticipated  the  wondrous  flowering  of  the  arts  in 
Tuscany.  In  that  ancient  chapel  took  place  the  canonization  of  St. 
Brigit  of  Sweden  on  October  7,  1391,  and  on  Christmas  night,  1468, 
Pope  Paul  II  invested  there  with  cap  and  sword  Frederick  III,  Emperor 
of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Mention  is  made  of  the  Chapel  of  Nicho- 
las III  in  1473,  and  again  in  1477  in  a  document  which  hints  at  the  build- 
ing of  a  new  chapel  by  Sixtus  IV.  This  latter  Pope  consecrated  a  new 
sanctuary  to  Our  Lady  of  the  Assumption  on  August  15,  1482,  and  his 
historian,  Giacomo  da  Volterra,  tells  us  that  the  new  building  gave  him 
such  joy  that  he  went  there  at  all  hours  to  fulfil  his  devotions  and  that 
he  was  never  weary  of  praising  the  beauty  of  its  decorations. 

If  we  dwell  a  little  on  these  things  it  is  because  most  of  them  have 
come  down  to  our  day  and  help  to  complete  one  of  the  most  glorious 
pages  in  the  story  of  Italian  painting  in  the  period  of  the  Renaissance. 
There  was  nothing  in  the  interior  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV's  Chapel  to  bear  out 
the  sternness  it  wore  outside — a  sternness  which  it  ow^ed  to  its  builder, 
Giovannino  de'  Dolci  (the  man  who  had  fortified  Ronciglione  and  Civi- 
tavecchia), and  which  is  still  to  be  found  in  that  part  of  the  Vatican 
Palace  that  looks  out  on  the  Cortili  del  Papagallo  and  del  Maresciallo. 
The  roof,  with  its  lunettes  and  corbels,  had  much  the  same  shape  as  it 
has  to-day,  and  the  side  walls  w^ere  more  or  less  the  same,  being  divided 
into  three  zones,  each  zone  being  subdivided  by  pilasters  and  windows. 


62 


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General  View  of  the  Sistine  Chapel 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  63 

Very  probably  in  the  early  days  the  painted  curtains  between  the  pilas- 
ters in  the  first  zone  were  replaced  by  precious  stuffs  whose  tints  har- 
monized with  the  colors  of  the  frescoes  in  the  second  zone.  The  third 
zone  held  the  windows  and  little  niches  painted  with  figures.  Such  a 
division  of  walls  into  zones  by  pilasters  was  quite  usual  in  Rome  in 
ancient  and  medieval  Christian  monuments,  and  it  is  probably  safe 
to  say  that  it  w^as  adhered  to  in  the  original  Chapel  of  Nicholas  HI. 

Before  Michelangelo  painted  iiis  Last  Judgment  on  the  end  wall,  that 
wall  also  was  divided  into  three  sections.    Above,  there  were  two  win- 


Muses  and  Sephorah 
(Pcrugino  and  Pinturicchio) 

dows  and  four  painted  niches,  and  there  were  two  large  frescoes  on  the 
middle  section.  The  entrance  wall  was  also  adorned  with  two  frescoes. 
It  was  Giovannino  de'  Dolci's  plan  to  add  a  choir,  a  screen,  and  a  pave- 
ment in  opus  Alexandrinum.  Whereas  the  decorations  of  the  choir 
and  the  screen  show  the  artistic  output  of  the  schools  of  Giovanni 
Dalmata  and  Mino  da  Fiesole,  the  splendid  pavement  is  Roman  work- 
manship following  the  lines  of  old  Roman  traditions.  Among  the 
broken  marbles  that  go  to  make  it  up  there  are  scraps  of  all  kinds — 
bits  of  pagan  inscriptions  side  by  side  with  Christian  ejaculations — and 
there  are  even  whole  patches  of  old  pavements,  the  work  of  the  Cos- 
mati  and  probably  belonging  to  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  HI  which  had 
been  pulled  down. 


64  THE  VATICAN 

But  we  must  hasten  on  to  give  an  account  of  the  decorations  for 
which  on  October  27, 1481,  a  contract  was  agreed  to  by  Cosimo  Rosselli, 
Sandro  Botticelli,  Domenico  Ghirlandaio,  and  Pietro  Perugino,  in  which 
the  decorators  undertook  to  paint  ten  scenes  for  Giovannino  de'  Dolci, 
the  architect.  Later  we  mean  to  particularize  the  various  artists  and 
their  assistants  on  each  particular  piece  of  the  work,  but  for  the  mo- 
ment our  explanation  must  be  more  general. 

The  wall  on  the  left  contains  the  following  scenes  from  the  life  of 

Journey,  Moses 
raoh  Engulfed 
the  Adoration  of 
the  Destruction 
Korah,  and  the 
The  wall  to  the 
the  Baptism  of 
Temptation     of 


Moses:  Moses's 
in  Egypt,  Pha- 
in  the  Red  Sea, 
the  Golden  Calf, 
of  the  Family  of 
Death  of  Moses, 
right  contains 
Christ,  also  the 
Christ,  the  Call- 
Andrew,  the  Ser- 
Mount,  the  Giv- 
to  Peter,  and  the 
the  end  wall, 
Judgment  isnow 
frescoes  show- 
of  Moses  and  the 
Magi.  The  en- 
frescoes,  show- 
for  the  Body  of 
Resurrection  of 
were  lost   when 


ing  of  Peter  and 


mon 


mg 


Detail   from   Moses  and   Sephorah 
(Perugino  and  Pinturicchio) 


on  the 
of  the  Keys 
Last  Supper.  On 
where  the  Last 
seen,  there  were 
ing  the  Finding 
Adoration  of  the 
trance  wall  has 
ing  the  Struggle 
Moses  and  the 
Christ;  these 
the  wall  went  to 

ruin  in  the  time  of  Adrian  VI,  about  1522,  and  some  time  later  their 
places  were  taken  by  two  paintings  of  the  Michelangelo  school  from 
the  brushes  of  Matteo  da  Lecce  and  Arrigo  Fiammingo. 

The  very  list  of  subjects  shows  that  the  old  idea  of  correlating  scenes 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  churches — the  Law  of  Concor- 
dance, as  it  was  called — held  sway  here  in  all  its  force.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  many  stories  from  Genesis — e.g.,  the  story  of  Isaac,  Abram,  and 
Jacob,  in  whom  early  theologians  found  precursors  of  Christ — were  all 
discarded  and  the  figure  of  Moses  dominates  everything  as  sufficing  in 
himself  to  symbolize  the  Old  Testament  face  to  face  with  the  New,  in 
which  the  redemption  took  place.  The  Child  Moses  Saved  from  the 
Waters  balances  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi;  the  Circumcision  of  Moses's 
Sons  stands  out  against  the  Baptism  of  Christ;  the  Adoration  of  the 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


65 


■  .■■..■■.■.■■«■■■■■■■■»...■.....  I  '.       ..'■■.'.,■        ■■)     ■      J.l.l]      I.I  1       .l.-i.-^-TriiHWH,^ 


iUUUt.Ui 


Moses  and  the  Daughters  of  Jethro 
(Botticelli) 


Detail  from  Moses  and  the  Daughters  of  Jethro 
(Botticelli) 


66 


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Details  from  the  Passage  of  tin-  lied  Se^ 
(Rosselli  and  Pupils) 


The  Passage  of  the  Bed  Sea 
(Rosselli  and  Pupils) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  67 

Golden  Calf  finds  itself  opposite  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount;  the  Strug- 
gle for  the  Body  of  Moses  faces  the  Resurrection  of  Christ. 

Thus  we  find  in  this  Palatine  Chapel  of  the  Roman  Pontiff  at  the 
close  of  the  Quattrocento  a  matured  and  theological  expression  of  those 


The  Adoration  of  the  Gokk-n  Calf 


(Rosselli) 

wordless  sermons  in  colors  which  for  centuries  had  cheered  the  dark- 
ness of  the  Catacombs  and  lighted  up  the  severe  coldness  of  the  Chris- 
tian churches;  pictures  which,  as  St.  Paulinus  of  Nola  so  elegantly  said, 
served  as  silent  teachers  to  the  poor  who  could  not  read:  rusticitas 
indocfa  legend i. 

Now  if  we  pass  from  the  pictures  themselves  to  the  artists  who 
painted  them,  it  is  instructive  to  observe  that  not  one  artist  of  note  is  a 
Roman.  Antoniazzo,  it  is  true,  did  some  work  of  a  very  minor  char- 
acter in  the  chapel,  but  the  great  Lorenzo  of  Viterbo  is  not  found  there 
at  all.  There  was  an  era  of  blossoming  for  art  in  Rome  at  the  end  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  but  the  blossoms  were  nipped  when  the  Popes  went 
to  Avignon.  Art  waned  in  the  Eternal  City,  and  Roman  artists,  among 
them  the  great  Pietro  Cavallini,  to  whom  Giotto  owed  so  much,  were 
scattered  throughout  the  cities  of  Italy.  When  the  Popes  returned  to 
Rome  about  the  middle  of  the  Trecento  and  bethought  them  of  deco- 
rating the  Vatican  Palace,  they  had  to  fall  back  on  Tuscany,  and  Tus- 
cans and  Umbrians  came  to  decorate  the  Sistine  Chapel.    Together  with 


68 


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The  Punishment  of  Korah,  Dathan,  Abirani  and  On 
(Botticelli  and  Signorelli) 


The  'I'e.slanient  of  .Moses 
(Signorelli) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


69 


Detail  from  the  Te^tanu:i!  .,i    M.jms 
(Signorelli) 


DiUiil  fium  the  Baptism  of  Christ 
t  Pinturicchio  and   Pcrugino) 


Sandro  Botticelli,  Domenico  Ghirlandaio,  and  Cosimo  Rosselli  came 
Pietro  Perugino,  Pinturicchio,  and  Luca  Signorelli,  in  whom  the 
schools  of  Umbria  and  Tuscany  blended  so  harmoniously.  These  great 
masters  were  aided  in  their  works  by  assistants  of  all  kinds,  so  that  it  is 
no  easy  matter  to  say  whether  a  fresco  from  one  painter's  design  has  not 
been  actually  painted  by  another.  As  we  go  along  from  picture  to  pic- 
ture, it  will  be  our  endeavor  to  point  out,  as  far  as  we  know  it  and  as  far 
as  space  allows,  who  were  the  collaborators  in  each  masterpiece.  Begin- 
ning, then,  as  usual,  on  the  left  wall,  we  will  go  round  towards  the  right. 
The  first  painting  we  come  to  shows  us  Moses  together  with  Sephorah 
(Zipporah)  and  their  sons  and  servants  and  handmaidens  halted  by  an 
angel  of  God  who  forbids  them  to  proceed  because  Sephorah's  sons  have 
not  been  circumcised.  The  caravan  halts  and  the  sacramental  rite  is  per- 
formed. Here  both  design  and  coloring  reveal  the  hand  of  Pietro  Peru- 
gino, the  great  Umbrian  master.  It  was  one  of  the  earliest  works 
painted  in  the  chapel,  and  was  once  looked  upon  as  the  gem  of  the 
whole  decoration.  Perugino  painted  four  of  the  frescoes  on  the  walls 
as  well  as  the  two  on  the  end  wall  that  were  destroyed  later.  Moreover, 
the  painting  on  the  altar,  representing  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin, 
is  also  his.  In  these  w^orks  he  was  assisted  principally  by  Pinturicchio, 
Andrea  d'Assisi  (known  as  LTngegno),  Luca  Signorelli,  and  Piero  Dei. 


70 


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Baptism  of  Christ 
(Pinturicchio  and  Perugino) 


'"■'Tj-^T^'^'^^  .;'",'Sji? 


Till-   I  tiiiphition  of  Clirist 
(Botticelli) 


Detail  from  the  Temptation  of  Christ 
(Botticelli) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  71 

On  the  first  fresco  above  re- 
ferred to  he  was  assisted  by  Pintu- 
ricchio,  whose  lovely  flowerlike 
coloring  is  to  be  seen  in  the  figures 
his  master  designed.  It  was  the 
wondrous  skill  he  showed  in  a 
hundred  ways  on  those  paintings 
that  won  for  Pinturicchio  the 
honor  of  being  chosen  to  decorate 
the  Appartamento  Borgia.  How- 
ever the  design  neither  of  the 
splendid  figure  of  the  angel  with 
the  sword  coming  forward  to  meet 
Moses  nor  of  the  virile  heads  of 
those  who  assist  at  the  circumci- 
sion can  be  attributed  to  him.  They 
speak  too  truly  of  Perugino.  But 
the  landscape  is  exclusively  by 
Pinturicchio,  and  it  was  also  he 
who  painted  the  fresco  of  the  Bap- 
tism of  Christ,  to  which  Perugino's  sole  contribution  w^as  the  meek 
figure  of  the  Redeemer. 

In  the  fresco  showing  the  works  of  Moses  in  the  land  of  the  Midian- 
ites  we  have  a  real  example  of  the  beauty  and  skill  of  Sandro  Botticelli's 
art — an  art  that  knew  so  well  how  to  link  breadth  of  movement  and 
idyllic  peace.  Following  the  custom  which  was  so  dear  to  medieval 
painters,  he  tells  within  the  frame  of  a  single  fresco  the  whole 
life  story  of  the  leader  of  the  chosen  people.  From  the  fullness  of  his 
own  concept  of  the  theme,  he  chose  as  central  figure  Moses  with  the 
daughters  of  Jelhro  near  the  well.  And  so  sweet  is  the  charm  of  these 
fair-haired  maidens  and  so  modest  their  bearing  that  they  absorb  the 
attention  of  the  visitor,  who  thus  has  no  eyes  for  the  story  of  Moses  set 
all  around  them.  In  one  corner  Moses  is  to  be  seen  slaying  the  Egyp- 
tian and  taking  flight  to  Midian;  in  another  he  is  pulling  off  his  shoes 
to  adore  God  in  the  burning  bush.  In  this  as  in  the  two  other  frescoes 
Botticelli  was  assisted  by  the  youth  Filippino  Lippi. 

A  work  of  less  importance,  by  Cosimo  Rosselli  and  his  pupils,  is  the 
fresco  of  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  and  the  engulfing  of  Pharaoh.  The 
attention  to  details  and  the  accuracy  of  the  drawing  of  the  people  w^ho 
accompany  Moses  do  not  save  the  fresco  from  criticism  as  a  badly  con- 
ceived and  inorganic  work. 

It  is  thus  with  genuine  relief  that  we  turn  our  eyes  to  the  painting 


72 


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The  Calling  of  Peter  and  Andrew 
(Domenico  Ghirlandaio) 


iJilail  iKiiu  the  Calling  of  Peter  and  Andrew 
(Domenico  Ghirlandaio) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


73 


The  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
(Rosselli) 


Detail  lium  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
(Head  of  Rosselli  to  the  left) 


74 


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that  comes  next — the  work  of  Sandro  Botticelli  and  Luca  Signorelli. 
Never  had  the  souls  of  these  two  artists,  so  unlike  in  many  ways,  met  so 
graciously  as  in  this  picture.  The  tigures  of  the  followers  of  Korah, 
Dathan,  Abiram,  and  On,  who  have  just  been  struck  down  by  divine 
wrath,  resemble  nothing  so  much  as  the  souls  of  the  followers  of  anti- 
christ and  the  damned  painted  by  Luca  in  the  Chapel  of  St.  Brigit  in 
the  Duomo  of  Orvieto.  To  add  to  the  magnificence  of  the  scene,  the 
artists  have  brought  into  the  background,  among  other  Roman  ruins, 
the  Arch  of  Constantine,  and  written  on  it  we  read:  "Nemo  sibi  assumat 


Christ  Delivering  the  Keys  to  St.  Peter 
(Perugino) 


honorem  nisi  vocatus  a  Deo  tanquam  Aaron" — a  patent  allusion  to  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Pope. 

Concerning  the  fresco  of  the  Testament  of  Moses,  there  was  at  one 
time  a  dispute  among  art  historians,  but  Adolfo  Venturi  has  banished 
every  doubt  and  shown  beyond  debate  that  the  design  is  by  Luca 
Signorelli,  that  it  was  not  included  in  the  original  contract  drawn  up  in 
1481,  that  he  was  called  in  to  assist  at  it,  and  that  the  painting  was  actu- 
ally done  by  Piero  Dei,  one  of  Luca's  staff,  with  some  slight  assistance 
from  Pinturicchio,  who,  being  one  of  the  least  in  that  fair  company  of 
masters,  was  glad  to  lend  a  hand  here  and  there  as  occasion  otTered. 

The  composition  of  the  picture  divides  itself  into  episodes.    In  the 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  75 

foreground  to  the  riglit  Moses  is  reading  the  law,  in  the  centre  appears 
a  naked  Levite,  and  to  the  left  Aaron  is  receiving  his  rod.  In  the  back- 
ground are  shown  the  angel  pointing  out  to  Moses  the  Promised  Land 
that  his  feet  were  never  to  touch,  then  Moses  coming  down  tired  from 
the  mountain,  and,  last  scene  of  all,  the  people  of  Israel  weeping  over 
their  dead  patriarch.  There  is  an  old  tradition  to  the  effect  that  the 
splendid  figure  of  the  Levite  is  the  portrait  of  Luca's  son,  who  was  done 
to  death  by  jealous  painters.  This  glorious  figure,  which  seems  to 
herald  the  mighty  works  of  Michelangelo,  is  a  miracle  of  drawing  for 
the  time  when  it  was  done. 


Thf  Last  Supper 
(Cosimo  Rosselli) 

The  series  of  frescoes  on  the  right  wall  begins  with  the  Baptism  of 
Christ,  the  work  throughout  of  Pinturicchio  save  for  the  masterful 
central  figure  of  the  Redeemer,  which  was  designed  by  Pietro  Peru- 
gino.  Another  gracious  figure,  recalling  the  Allegory  of  Springtime,  is 
that  painted  by  Sandro  Botticelli  in  the  Temptation  of  Christ,  which  is, 
on  the  whole,  a  feeble  work  overcrowded  with  characters  and  details. 
The  sacrifice  of  the  leper,  with  its  background  showing  the  Hospital 
of  Santo  Spirito  restored  by  Pope  Sixtus  IV,  the  weird  altar  with  its 
rising  flames,  and  the  curious  crowd  of  onlookers,  take  the  eye  com- 
pletely away  from  the  little  scene  in  which  the  demon  appears  vainly 
tempting  the  Saviour. 


76 


THE  VATICAN 


The  series  of  stories  taken  from  the  New  Testament  begins,  as  we 
have  said,  on  the  right  wall  with  the  Baptism  of  Christ,  which  balances 
the  Circumcision  of  the  Children  of  Israel  on  the  opposite  wall.  We 
next  pass  on  to  the  Calling  of  Peter  and  Andrew,  in  the  execution  of 
which  Domenico  Ghirlandaio  was  assisted  by  his  young  brother,  David. 
The  method  of  grouping  his  subjects,  so  distinctive  of  the  great  Floren- 
tine, is  clearly  in  evidence  here.  To  the  right,  in  the  group  of  men,  aged 
and  youthful,  he  has  painted  for  us,  with  all  the  accuracy  he  learned 
from  studying  the  designs  of  the  Dutch  masters,  the  portraits  of  the 

tines  in  Rome  at 
for  instance, 
tonio  Vespucci, 
spokesman  to 
the  whole  com- 
what  theatrical, 
various  charac- 
have  their  por- 
and  were  bent 
as  good  an  ap- 
sible. 

all  painters  in 
to  was  Cosimo 
of  the  mediocre 
di  Bicci.  He 
lacked  original- 
picked  up  a  bit 
there,  but  dis- 
f or  himself.  The 
his  Sermon  on 
the      landscape, 


great  Floren- 
the  time.  There, 
stands  Guid'an- 
Florence's 
the  Pope.  But 
position  is  some- 
as  though  the 
ters  had  come  to 
traits  painted 
on  making 

pearance  as  pos- 
Weakest  of 
the  Quattrocen- 
Rosselli,  pupil 
school  of  Neri 
seems  to  have 
ity,  and  to  have 
here  and  a  bit 
covered  nothing 
best  feature  of 
the      Mount     is 


Portrait  of  Michelangelo 
(Last   Judgment) 


which  was  painted  by  Piero  di  Cosimo,  a  pupil  who  modelled  himself 
largely  on  the  style  of  Leonardo  and  the  Dutch  school.  To  the  left  Jesus 
is  addressing  the  crowds,  and  on  the  right  he  is  healing  the  leper  boy. 
Steinmann,  in  his  great  work  on  the  Sistine  Chapel,  has  successfully 
shown  that  the  figure  to  the  right  in  the  first  row  is  Giacomo  d'Almedia, 
Knight  of  Rhodes,  and  that  beside  him  stands  his  brother,  the  Portu- 
guese ambassador  in  Rome.  On  the  left  side  also,  and  a  little  behind 
these  two,  the  painter  has  placed  Carlotta  of  Lusignan,  formerly  Queen 
of  Cyprus,  together  with  her  husband,  Louis  of  Savoy. 

A  fresco  of  peculiar  importance  comes  next,  its  subject  being  Christ 
Delivering  the  Keys  to  St.  Peter.  In  the  centre  stands  Christ,  giving  the 
symbolical  keys  to  the  kneeling  Apostle.    The  lower  portion  of  the  pic- 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


77 


Section  of  a  Wall  showing  Popes  Lucius  and 
I'abianus 


Caryatid 
(Michelangelo) 


Pope  St.  Stephen  I 
(Botticelli) 


Pope  St.  Soterus 
(Botticelli) 


78 


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ture  is  so  painted  as  to  stand  out  strong  and  dark  against  tlie  pavement 
glowing  witli  light;  in  the  background  rises  a  large  octagonal  building 
with  porticoes,  supposed  to  be  the  Temple  of  Solomon  and  typifying 
the  Old  Law,  and  a  pair  of  triumphal  arches,  clearly  Roman  in  archi- 
tectural style.  Six  Apostles  in  various  attitudes  follow  Christ,  while 
five  stand  near  Peter.  On  both  sides  are  various  personages  in  medi- 
eval robes,  and  one  with  brownish  hair  is  said  to  be  the  painter  himself. 
The  background  is  fdled  in  with  figures  of  men  in  various  costumes. 


The  Ceiling  of  the  Sistine  Chapel 
(Michelangelo) 


In  this  great  fresco  Pietro  Perugino,  who  up  to  this  had  been  working 
in  Florence,  gives  us  a  new  revelation  of  himself.  The  figures,  never- 
theless, have  much  of  that  Umbrian  charm  and  sweetness  which  at 
times  grow  so  wearisome  in  the  works  of  this  great  master.  But  the 
whole  work  breathes  so  much  power  and  majesty  that  it  enables  us 
to  see  the  vivid  impression  the  atmosphere  of  Rome  had  made  upon 
him.  There  is  no  truth  in  the  assertion  that  Luca  Signorelli  helped 
Perugino  on  this  painting.  His  only  helper  was  Piero  Dei,  who, 
as  Adolfo  Venturi  has  so  clearly  shown,  designed  and  painted  the 
figures  of  the  two  bearded  Apostles  who  are  seen  one  on  either  side  of 
Christ. 
The  last  fresco  on  the  right  is  the  work  of  Cosimo  Rosselli,  as  empty 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  79 

and  feeble  as  anything  he  ever  did.  Not  even  the  charming  group  of 
the  cat  and  dog  at  play,  nor  the  excellent  roof  perspective  he  gives  us, 
nor  all  his  pains  at  painting  in  the  spaces  on  which  the  large  windows 
open  scenes  showing  Christ  in  the  Garden,  the  Betrayal  of  Christ,  and 
Christ  on  the  Cross,  can  make  us  forget  how  mean  and  feeble  the  whole 
composition  is. 

Even  to-day,  after  the  marvellous  unity  of  this  series  of  Quattrocento 
frescoes  has  been  broken,  we  cannot  help  feeling  how  beautiful  and 
eloquent  it  all  is.    Sixtus  IV  enjoyed  this  noble  work  but  a  short  time. 


The  Ceiling  of  the  Sistine  Cliapel 
(Michelangelo) 

for  he  died  on  August  12,  1484,  almost  a  year  after  he  had  solemnly 
consecrated  the  chapel  on  August  25,  1483.  The  chapel  remained 
untouched  till  1508.  In  the  meantime  Innocent  VIII  had  called  Andrea 
Mantegna  to  Rome  to  decorate  his  private  chapel  (which  no  longer 
exists),  and  Alexander  VI  had  enjoined  Pinturicchio  to  decorate  the 
Appartamento  Borgia. 

When  in  May,  1508,  Michelangelo  Buonarroti  set  his  hand  to  the 
mighty  task  of  decorating  the  roof  of  the  Sistine,  he  had  perforce  to 
give  up  work  on  the  monument  of  Julius  II  which  was  the  curse  of  his 
life.  He  had  already  completed  for  Bologna  a  statue  of  the  great  Pon- 
tiff, which  was  smashed  by  the  infuriated  people  in  1511.     Michel- 


80  THE  VATICAN 

angelo's  first  contract  with  the  Pope  for  the  decoration  of  the  Sistine 
roof  was  drawn  np  May  10,  1508,  and  in  putting  his  name  to  it  the  great 
master  signed  himself  "a  sculptor,"  as  though  to  emphasize  the  pain 
it  caused  him  to  he  ohliged  to  cease  work  on  the  monument  to  which 
he  desired  to  give  up  all  the  strength  of  his  mind  and  hody.  It  may  well 
have  been  that,  out  of  jealousy,  Bramante  had  long  been  plotting  to 
have  the  Sistine  decorated  so  as  to  thwart  the  great  Tuscan  master 
whose  recent  works  had  so  put  him  in  the  shade.    However  that  may 


The  Deluge 
(Michelangelo) 


be,  it  is  quite  certain  that  Michelangelo  was  sincerely  sorry  to  have  to 
go  to  work  as  a  painter,  and  he  showed  his  disappointment  openly. 

His  first  plan  for  the  roof  was  very  ditferent  from  what  we  now 
see,  and  studies  for  it  are  preserved  in  the  British  Museum.  The  design 
was  a  geometric  one,  cut  up  into  squares  of  various  sizes  with  sides  run- 
ning parallel  to  the  walls  of  the  chapel.  In  his  preparations  Michel- 
angelo was  assisted  bj'  his  faithful  friend,  Francesco  Granacci,  who 
selected  many  painters  to  help  in  the  great  work.  Among  them  were 
Jacopo  di  Sandro,  Agnolo  di  Domino,  Bastiano  da  Sangallo,  Giuliano 
Bugiardini,  and  Jacopo,  surnamed  LTndaco.    They  were  all  excellent 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


81 


The  lJruiik(_'niicss  ol  Au;ili 
(Michelangelo) 


The  Sacrifice  of  Noah 
(Michelangelo) 


82 


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lln-  (j'calicjii  of  Aihtin 
(Michelangelo) 


The  Creation  of  Eve 
(Michelangelo) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  83 

fresco  painters  who  had  come  lo  Rome,  and  were  all  very  eager  for  a 
chance  of  showing  what  they  could  do.  For  a  time  Michelangelo  looked 
at  them,  let  them  talk,  and  then  one  day  they  found  the  chapel  door 
locked  against  them.  He  could  do  no  work  with  five  painters  around 
him,  he  said,  and  so  he  set  about  the  mighty  work  all  alone. 

For  four  continuous  years  ending  on  October  31,  1512,  he  worked  up 
there  on  his  high  scaffold,  alone  with  his  own  creations,  while  down 
below  the  ceremonies  in  the  church,  changing  from  festivals  of  joy  to 


Origin;tl  Sin 


tlu'  I'^xiiuisii 
(Michelangelo) 


periods  of  mourning,  marked  the  flight  of  time  for  common  men.  Day 
by  day  new  visions  came  to  fill  his  great  mind,  and,  cut  off  as  he  was 
from  the  mass  of  men  and  rapt  in  superhuman  ecstasy,  he  passed  his 
time  with  the  mighty  children  of  his  fantasy.  Wounded  by  the  endless 
plotting  of  his  enemies,  sorrowful  over  the  infelicities  of  his  home  life 
that  he  could  never  forget,  and  suffering  physical  torture  from  being 
forced  to  draw  and  paint  that  roof  with  his  head  in  a  strained  position, 
he  found  no  relief  save  in  ever-increased  exertion  and  in  the  thought  of 
the  mighty  work  he  was  engaged  on  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the 
uplifting  of  the  sons  of  man.  Now  and  again  Julius  II  unwillingly 
allowed  him  to  recruit  himself  with  a  few  days'  brief  rest.  And  on 
August  14,  1511,  when  the  first  part  of  the  frescoes  was  uncovered,  we 


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The  Creation  of  Light 
(Michelangelo) 


irr 


The  Creation  of  the  Sun  and  the  Moon 
(Miehelangelo) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


85 


find  a  brief  mention  of  the  fact  in  the  diary  of  Paride  de'  Grassi,  papal 
master  of  ceremonies,  who  forgot  to  mention  the  name  of  the  great 
artist.  The  remainder  of  the  work  was  completed  and  uncovered  on 
October  31, 1512,  at  which  time  Julius  II  was  on  his  death-bed. 

Let  us  run  over  the  subjects  painted  on  the  roof,  beginning  at  the 
door  where  Michelangelo  began  to  paint  and  where  we  lind  the  Deluge 
— one  of  the  earliest  in  point  of  time,  and  also  one  of  the  few  subjects 
in  which  we  can  fmd  any  points  of  similarity  between  the  master  and 
the  various  painters  or  schools  he  had  come  in  touch  with. 


Tlie  Separation  of  the  Land  from  the  Water 
(Michelangelo) 

Between  the  Deluge  of  Paolo  Uccello,  in  the  Green  Cloister  of  S. 
Maria  Novella,  and  this  Deluge  the  links  are  ideal  rather  than  real,  but 
nevertheless  they  are  there  if  one  knows  where  to  look  for  them. 
Around  his  vision  of  the  horrible  spectacle  of  Death,  Michelangelo,  as 
if  to  mitigate  the  view,  has  introduced  two  scenes  from  life — the  Drunk- 
enness of  Noah  and  the  Sacrifice  on  Leaving  the  Ark.  In  these  two 
paintings  the  nudes  and  the  draperies  make  us  believe  for  an  instant 
that  Michelangelo  is  displaying  his  love  for  classical  antiquity.  If  you 
look  well  into  these  paintings  you  will  find  that  the  figures  are  smaller 
than  in  the  others.  This  was  his  first  attempt,  and  he  quickly  found  out 
that  owing  to  the  height  and  size  of  the  roof  he  had  to  enlarge  them. 


86 


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The  Prophet  Zechariah 
(Michelangelo) 


The   Prophet  Joel 
(Michelangelo) 


The  Delphic  Sibyl 
(Michelangelo) 


The  Prophet   Isaiah 
(Michelangelo) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


87 


The  Cum^an   Sibyl 
(iMichelangelo) 


The  Persian  Sibyl 
(Michelangelo) 


The  Prophet  Daniel 
(Michelangelo) 


The  Prophet  Jeremiah 
(Michelangelo) 


88 


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The  Prophet   Ezekiel 
(Michelangelo) 


Let  us  pass  on  from  the  Noah 
scenes  to  the  Adam  and  Eve  group 
in  the  centre  of  the  roof.  Here  the 
very  pinnacle  of  art  has  been 
scaled.  The  figure  of  Adam  stands 
out  against  a  solitary  peak,  alone 
with  God,  who  comes  forward 
from  a  crowd  of  angels  through 
the  calm  sky.  The  limbs  that 
spring  into  life  at  the  divine  touch, 
the  fair  body  that  seems,  in  its 
inertia,  to  be  still  a  part  of  the  very 
earth,  are  at  once  one  of  the  great- 
est symbols  and  easiest  lessons  that 
the  human  mind  has  imaged  to 
teach  us  that  it  is  ever  our  tragic 
lot  to  struggle  between  the  ma- 
terialism of  our  bodies  and  the 
efforts  of  our  imprisoned  souls  to 
wing  their  way  to  their  divine  Cre- 
ator. In  the  pictures  showing  the  birth  of  Eve  and  the  first  sin  the  mind 
of  the  artist  is  more  within  our  ken;  and  as  we  look  on  these  scenes,  our 
souls  are  not  drowned  in  the  infinite  ocean  of  allegory  which  the  mas- 
ter has  known  how  to  depict  in  his  vision  of  man's  first  appearance  on 
this  earth.  In  representing  God  without  crown  or  halo,  Michelangelo 
introduced  a  conception,  which  was  imitated  by  Raphael  and  others. 

It  is  usual  to  call  attention  here  to  the  relief  of  the  Creation  with 
which  Jacopo  della  Querela  has  adorned  the  facade  of  S.  Petronio's 
at  Bologna,  There  is,  indeed,  no  denying  points  of  contact  between  the 
two  works,  but  one  might  search  Bologna  with  lamps  before  finding 
one  simple  sculptured  scene  to  equal  that  of  the  Creation  of  Adam.  The 
synthetic  quality  which  is  so  necessary  for  every  great  work  of  art — 
that  synthetic  quality  which  taught  Giotto  to  build  on  the  realism  of 
the  Roman  and  Sienese  Schools  of  the  Duecento  the  monumental  sim- 
plicity of  his  compositions,  in  which  not  the  passing  events  of  a  day 
but  the  eternal  commerce  of  the  human  race  with  its  Deity  is  set  forth 
— that  synthetic  quality  led  Michelangelo  to  compose  the  Creation  of 
Man  and  to  place  around  it,  as  companion  pictures,  the  Creation  of 
Light,  Land  and  Water. 

The  face  of  the  Creator,  which  seems  to  lack  all  emotion  in  the  first 
picture,  is  lighted  up  with  paternal  tenderness  in  the  third,  where  he 
broods  over  the  wide  expanse  of  the  seas  that  know  not  yet  the  shock 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


89 


The  Last  Judgment 
(Michelangelo) 


90 


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The  Figure  of  the  Redeemer 
(Last  Judgment) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  91 

of  the  storm.  In  the  lunettes  above  Michelangelo  has  painted  in  the 
purest  types  of  human  heroism:  David  slaying  Goliath;  the  story  of 
Judith;  Esther  and  Haman;  Moses  and  the  Brazen  Serpent.  Next  come 
the  pictures  of  the  Seven  Prophets  and  the  Five  Sibyls,  whose  inner 
symbolical  significance  leads  us  to  think  that,  from  the  very  first  touch 
of  color  Michelangelo  put  to  the  Sistine  roof,  he  always  entertained  the 
idea  of  completing  the  decoration  of  the  chapel  by  the  Last  Judgment 
— a  work  he  did  not  reallv  undertake  until  1535. 


Ciroup  of  till'  Blc'ssi'd  around  Clirisi 
(Last  Judgment) 

Throughout  the  whole  period  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  imposing  fig- 
ures of  the  Prophets  and  Sibyls  had  been  used  in  decorations  side  by 
side  with  the  Apostles  and  Saints  of  the  New  Law.  The  law  of  pro- 
phetic concordance  between  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament  is  clearly 
manifest  in  the  case  of  the  Prophets,  wnth  whom  were  associated  the 
legendary  Sibyls  as  a  proof  of  the  spiritual  union  of  the  worlds  of 
paganism  and  Christianity  in  their  expectation  of  the  new  dispensation 
which  was  to  knit  them  together  in  the  bonds  of  its  great  love. 

The  Sibyl  who  on  the  Capitoline  Hill  foretold  the  Christ  to  Augustus 
is  not  here  in  person,  but  her  spirit  is  here  and  speaks  to  us  in  the 
figures  of  her  five  companions.  The  Prophets  and  the  Sibyls  have  each 
a  deep  meaning  often  transcending  the  historicity  of  the  person  or  the 


92  THE  VATICAN 

legend,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  treated  is  an  index  to  the 
meaning  the  artist  wonld  convey. 

Zechariah,  as  a  learned  old  man,  seems  to  he  seeking  for  light  in  the 
books  of  the  old  wisdom.  Joel  is  reading  there  the  dread  prophecy  of 
the  great  jndgment  day  in  the  Valley  of  .lehoshaphat.  Between  them 
stands  the  Delphic  Sibyl,  calling  up  to  the  mind  in  this  Christian  church 
the  temples  of  Apollo  and  the  secrets  of  pagan  worship.  Lost  in  the 
very  greatness  of  her  vision,  the  Pythoness  seems  to  be  hearkening  to 


Angels  Summoning  the  Dead  to  Rise 
(Last  Judgment) 

a  voice  that  tells  her  of  the  coming  union  of  men  of  all  times  and  climes 
in  the  great  idea  of  a  Supreme  Deity.  The  Erythraean  Sibyl  is  a  more 
sympathetic  figure,  and  recalls  Zechariah,  as  he  turns  over  the  pages 
of  Holy  Writ.  She  seems  to  be  carefully  reading  by  the  light  of  a 
lamp.  The  rapt  attention  of  her  attitude  has  been  skilfully  shown  by 
the  master  in  the  unconscious  grace  of  the  left  arm,  hanging  loosely 
by  her  side,  while  the  right  seems  to  have  paused  in  the  act  of  turning 
over  a  page  whereon  her  ej^es  have  caught  the  passage  that  she  sought. 
The  plump  servant,  who  seems  in  the  act  of  renewing  the  oil  in  the 
lamp,  adds  to  the  intimate  charm  of  this  scene. 

Lost  in  deep  interior  vision,  the  youthful  Isaiah  hardly  turns  his  head 
or  lifts  his  eyelids,  almost  closed  over  the  thoughtful  eyes,  at  the  eager 
call  of  the  curly-headed  youth  by  his  side. 


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93 


Angels  bearing  the  Emblems  of  the  Passion 
(Last  Judgment) 


Angels  bearing  the  I^inhkius  (jf  the  Passion 
(Last  Judgment) 


94 


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Figures  of  the  Damned 
(Last  Judgment) 


How  much  more  alert  is  the  fig- 
ure of  Ezekiel  at  the  words  of  the 
maiden  near  him,  wlio  seems  as  if 
she  were  describing  to  him  the 
many-eyed  animals  around  the 
throne  of  the  King  of  Glory.  He 
is  surely  here  the  prophet  of  the 
Resurrection,  impetuous  as  a  tor- 
rent and  filled  with  faith  in  hisGod. 

The  Cumaean  Sibyl  that  talked 
with  JEneas,  Evander,  and  Pallas 
has  all  the  strength  of  ancient 
Rome  and  with  placid  mien  traces 
the  events  of  history  in  the  great 
book.  Wrapped  in  her  ample  robes 
from  head  to  foot  and  with  face 
almost  hidden,  the  Persian  Sibyl  is 
in  the  act  of  writing.  In  conform- 
ity with  the  traditions  handed 
down  in  the  symbolism  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  Daniel  is  there,  the  type  of  an  upholder  of  the  faith 
against  all  threats.  Jeremiah  seems  to  brood  over  his  Lamentations — 
his  attitude  expressing  the  sorrow  of  his  thoughts,  and  sorrow,  too,  is 
written  on  the  faces  of  his  young  followers. 

Remarkable  rather  for  corporeal  than  for  symbolical  beauty  are  the 
Libyan  Sibyl  and  Jonah.  Jonah  seems  as  if  still  confused  by  his  deten- 
tion within  the  belly  of  the  leviathan,  as  stretched  out  under  the  tradi- 
tional gourd  he  gazes  at  the  Lord  while  he  tells  off  on  his  fingers  his 
foolish  reasons  for  doubting.  The  Preacher  of  Nineveh,  the  last  type 
of  the  Resurrection,  closes  the  series  of  Prophets  in  the  roof  above  the 
Judgment  which  the  Divine  Judge  pronounces  over  those  risen  from 
the  dead. 

From  the  representation  of  the  universal  flood  down  to  Jonah,  the 
figurej  seem  to  take  on  more  life  and  dignity,  and  this  is  not  only  the 
case  in  the  scene  pieces  and  in  the  Prophets  and  Sibyls,  but  even  in 
the  nudes  seated  on  the  pilasters  and  holding  the  shields  on  which  the 
master  has  depicted  the  symbolic  cycle  based  on  Dante's  Purgatory. 

It  was  Carlo  Rorinski  who  discovered  the  meaning  of  these  shields 
whereon  the  personages  bear  the  names  of  the  various  ancestors  of 
Jesus  as  given  in  the  genealogy  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  whom 
Michelangelo,  overcoming  all  difficulty  and  fatigue,  has  placed  as 
adornments  for  the  eight  beams  of  the  roof  and  the  corresponding 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL 


95 


Candelabrum  on  the  Balustrade 
(Fifteenth  Century) 


Candelabrum  on  the  Balustrade 
(Fifteenth  Century) 


Side  View  of  the  Choir-loft 
(Fifteenth  Century) 


Balustrade  and  Choir-I'iit 
(Fifteenth  Century) 


96 


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twelve  lunettes  of  the  windows.  Guided  by  a  similarity  between  those 
figures  and  characters  in  Dante,  Borinski  has  succeeded  in  showing 
that  the  figures  typify  certain  moral  and  religious  maxims  in  Dante's 
poem.  Thus,  in  the  composition  to  which  the  names  Eleazar  and 
Nathan  have  been  added,  we  find  reference  to  the  Dantean  nurse  and 
the  happy  parents  (Paradiso,  xv,  121);  that  named  Jacob  and  Joseph 
calls  up  the  father  who  is  worried  over  his  daughter's  dowry  and  mar- 
riage (Paradiso,  xv,  1031.  Achim  and  f^liud  remind  us  of  the  lines 
where  he  tells  how  bitter  is  the  bread  in  the  house  of  a  stranger  (Para- 
diso, xvii,  58).    Ozias,  Joatham,  and  Achaz  call  up  the  story  of  Caccia- 


The  Sistine  Cantoria,  or  Choir-loft 
(Fifteenth  Century) 


guida  as  Dante  tells  it  (Paradiso,  xv,  17 ) .  Rehoboam  and  Abiah  remind 
us  of  the  wife  alone  while  her  husband  lies  dead  in  France  (Paradiso, 
XV,  19). 

The  two  lunettes  of  the  end  wall  once  held  Abram  and  Isaac  with  his 
load  of  wood,  and  Jacob  and  Judah,  but  these  Michelangelo  destroyed 
together  with  the  Perugino  frescoes  twenty-three  3'ears  later,  when 
he  came  to  paint  the  mighty  vision  of  the  Last  Judgment.  The  subject 
was  chosen  by  Clement  VII,  and  Michelangelo  made  some  early  studies 
for  it  which  were  approved  by  Paul  III.  The  choice  of  such  a  subject 
is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  which  was  wont  to  pass 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  97 

lightly  from  the  pagan  joy  of  the  Renaissance  to  the  rigid  orthodoxy 
of  the  Council  of  Trent  and  the  asceticism  of  the  Counter  Reform.  We 
must  remember,  too,  that  Rome  had  endured  the  dread  sack  of  1527, 
and  Florence  had  fallen  under  the  blows  of  her  own  citizens,  who  had 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  Imperial  party. 

Michelangelo  was  sixty  years  old  when  he  began  this  great  work, 
which  was  to  occupy  him  seven  years.  It  was  at  one  time  intended  to 
decorate  the  entrance  wall  with  the  Fall  of  Lucifer,  but  nothing  ever 


ii«^.eT^:v^>^ 


--^ 


r..i1i..n 


.1'  llic   M;irlili'   ll.ihi^lr.nk' 

(1481-1483) 


came  of  the  idea.  Moreover,  by  placing  the  Judgment  on  the  wall  fac- 
ing the  entrance  door,  an  old  tradition  was  broken  which  held  that  it 
should  be  on  the  entrance  wall  to  the  east  whence  the  Judge  was  to  come 
and  facing  the  altar  in  the  apse.  It  is  so  at  Torcello,  and  at  S.  Angelo 
in  Formis,  and  thus  too  it  was  painted  by  Pietro  Cavallini  in  S.  Cecilia 
in  Trastevere  and  by  Giotto  in  the  Scrovegni  Chapel  at  Padua.  But  the 
giant  imagery  of  Michelangelo  for  the  Sistine  was  not  to  be  chained  by 
an  iconographic  tradition.  He  retained  the  Christian  idea,  indeed,  but 
he  altered  its  form. 

Michelangelo's  masterpiece  has  come  down  to  us  darkened  here  and 
there  bv  the  smoke  from  the  altar  candles  and  repainted  by  Daniele  da 


98 


THE  VATICAN 


A  Panel  of  the  Balustrade 
(1481-1483) 


A  I'ancl  of  the  BalustradL 
(1481-1483) 


THE  SISTINE  CHAPEL  99 

Volterra,  who,  at  the  request  of  Paul  H,  whose  feelings  were  shocked 
by  so  much  nudity,  dared  to  throw  veils  across  the  beauty  of  the  limbs 
his  master  had  painted. 

Of  its  original  form  we  can  gain  some  conception  from  a  copy 
painted  by  Venusti  for  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese,  now  preserved 
in  the  Museo  Nazionale  in  Naples,  and  from  a  few  engravings. 

The  figure  of  Jesus  is  not,  as  in  other  medieval  Judgments,  en- 
throned in  glory  and  indicating  with  a  gesture  of  his  hand  his  approval 
or  condemnation.  Here  he  seems  not  to  be  concerned  with  the  elect 
who  are  on  his  right  hand,  but  to  turn  the  wrath  of  his  face  towards  the 
lost,  who  try  to  climb  the  mount  of  Paradise,  struggling  with  the 
demons  who  drag  them  towards  the  eternal  fire.  Creation  trembles 
before  its  Judge,  and  even  Marj%  the  gentle  adviser  of  mercy,  turns 
aside  as  though  in  fright.  Among  the  blessed  around  Christ  are  Eve,  St. 
Peter,  St.  Stephen,  St.  Laurence,  St.  Bartholomew,  and,  lower  down, 
St.  Catherine  of  Alexandria  with  a  broken  piece  of  her  martyr's  wheel 
and  St.  Sebastian  about  to  bend  the  bow  of  his  own  murderers. 

In  the  centre  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  picture  angels  with  trumpets 
call  on  the  dead  to  rise.  Tombs  open  wide,  and  those  about  to  be  judged 
come  forth  heavy  after  their  sleep  of  ages,  and  are  either  hurried  on 
high  by  God's  messengers  or  dragged  down  below  by  demons. 

Charon  is  there  as  a  black  fiery-eyed  demon,  driving  ashore  with  his 
oar  those  who  have  crossed  in  his  accursed  boat,  and  who  now  struggle 
to  the  shore,  where  one  of  the  damned  stands  upright,  bound  about 
twice  by  the  coiled  tail  of  Mino,  the  judge  of  the  infernal  regions. 

There  is  not  in  the  whole  work  a  single  smile,  a  single  trace  of  mercy; 
even  the  Virgin  is  afraid  and  dares  not  turn  her  eyes  towards  the  awful 
sight.  From  the  demons  hurled  headlong  on  the  shores  of  Acheron  to 
the  giant  angels  on  high  who  bear  the  emblems  of  Christ's  passion, 
everything  speaks  of  woe,  pain,  and  terror. 

The  whole  theme  represents  the  state  of  mind  of  Michelangelo  dur- 
ing the  last  portion  of  his  life,  and  the  gloom  with  which  he  gave  him- 
self up  to  that  dark  problem  of  life  and  death. 

And  so  with  the  final  Judgment  the  chain  of  pictures  in  the  Sistine 
closes:  a  chain  the  first  link  of  which  was  the  charming  idyl  of  Moses 
and  Sephorah  painted  so  joyously  by  Peruginoand  Pinturicchio  among 
the  green  trees  of  a  land  smiling  with  the  joy  of  springtime  and  joyous 
with  the  laughter  of  beautiful  children. 


m^h^^ 


THE  PAULINE  CHAPEL 

HE  Pauline  Chapel,  so  called  after  Pope  Paul  III,  was 
built  according  to  plans  made  by  the  architect  An- 
tonio da  Sangallo  on  the  site  where  the  Sacrament 
Chapel,  decorated  originally  by  Fra  Angelico,  had  once 
stood.  The  decorations  of  the  new  chapel  were  the 
work  of  many  artists.  Lorenzo  Sabbatini,  known  also 


i^itHkJ^'  it  work  oi  many  artists.  Lorenzo  Sabbatmi,  known  also 
p^x-&*™-t.  %,.  At  ,^j5  Lorenzino  da  Bologna  (died  about  1577),  did  the 
t' ^':;  ". n..  ...  :ri§  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen  and  the  Baptism  of  St.  Paul. 
Fcdciico  Zuccari  painted  the  Fall  of  Simon  Magus  and  the  Baptism  of 
Cornelius  the  Centurion,  works  of  little  importance  and  calling  for 
slight  attention  from  either  visitor  or  critic.  There  are,  however,  two 
masterpieces  in  the  chapel — the  Conversion  of  St.  Paul  and  the  Mar- 
tyrdom of  St.  Peter,  painted  by  Michelangelo  in  his  last  years. 

Anxious  to  rival  Pope  Sixtus  W,  the  restorer  of  Rome,  who  had  given 
his  name  to  the  Sistine  Chapel,  Paul  III  could  entrust  the  decorations 
of  his  new  chapel  to  none  but  the  greatest  living  artist — the  artist  who 
had  immortalized  his  titanic  soul  in  the  tomb  of  Julius  II  and  a  year 
before  had  finished  the  Last  Judgment.  So,  in  the  year  1542,  Michel- 
angelo was  called  to  decorate  the  new  building. 

The  master  was  now  an  old  man.  The  winters  of  sixty-eight  years 
were  weighing  upon  him,  and  twice,  in  1544  and  1546,  did  illness  beat 
him  down  and  halt  his  labors.  Fire  caused  an  interruption  in  1545, 
and  it  was  not  until  1550  that  he  completed  his  work.  The  ailments  of 
the  master  w^ere  not  all  of  the  body:  his  soul,  too,  was  wounded.  The 
woes  of  his  fallen  city;  the  lack  of  appreciation  of  his  own  work;  the 
profanation  of  his  Last  Judgment  by  Daniele  da  Volterra,  whose  med- 
dling with  its  nudes  won  him  for  succeeding  centuries  the  nickname  of 
"Braghettone"  (Breeches-maker) ;  the  taunts  of  Aretino  in  1545,  backed 
up  even  by  Cardinal  Biagio  de  Cesena,  Papal  Master  of  Ceremonies — 
all  these  oppressed  his  mighty  soul.  He  had,  however,  but  one  real 
regret,  and  this  regret  finds  an  echo  in  the  writings  of  Vasari:  he  was 
growing  old,  and  his  hand  no  longer  answered  true  to  fix  in  color  the 
creations  of  his  brain.  "Fresco  work  was  beyond  the  power  of  an  old 
man,"  writes  Vasari.  In  the  sorrow  of  this  giant  mind  there  is  some- 
thing sublimely  tragic  that  recalls  the  saying  of  the  modern  poet  who 
speaks  of  "the  anger  of  a  god  overcome  by  matter." 

cion 


102 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Conversion  of  St.  Paul 
(Michelangelo) 

Michelangelo  has  depicted  on  the  walls  two  of  the  fundamental 
scenes  of  nascent  Christianity — Paul  on  the  Way  to  Damascus  and  the 
Crucifixion  of  St.  Peter.  No  more  heroic  themes  could  have  been 
chosen  than  these,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  two  culminating 
points  in  the  history  of  the  Apostles. 

In  the  Conversion  of  St.  Paul  the  master  has  once  more  grappled 
with  the  most  difficult  problems  of  aerial  perspective.  Christ,  sur- 
rounded by  a  glory  of  angels,  seems  to  swoop  down  on  the  Apostle 
with  the  same  power  that  the  Angel  has  in  the  canvas  by  Tintoretto  in 
Venice.  At  the  sight  of  the  marvel,  the  affrighted  Apostle  cannot  con- 
trol his  horse,  which  rears  and  unseats  him.  The  legionaries  gather 
around  their  fallen  leader,  while  one  of  their  number  holds  by  the 


THE  PAULINE  CHAPEL 


103 


The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter 
(Michelangelo) 

bridle  the  wonderful  white  horse,  the  only  thing  Stendhal  had  eyes  for. 
The  majesty  of  Christ  and  the  attitude  of  Paul  are,  as  Burckardt  has 
pointed  out,  among  the  happiest  things  Michelangelo  ever  did.  But  it 
is  not  fair  to  say,  as  the  German  critic  does,  that  the  whole  subject  fails 
through  a  sort  of  wilfulness  which,  even  in  Michelangelo,  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  call  mannerism.  Nor  can  we  agree  with  Blanc,  who  sees 
nothing  in  the  choice  of  attitudes  but  an  excuse  to  overcome  drawing 
difficulties,  and  in  the  employment  of  nudes  for  the  figures  in  the  sky 
sees  only  a  deliberate  excuse  of  the  artist  to  show  his  knowledge  of 
anatomy  and  the  infinite  attitudes  and  poses  into  which  the  human 
body  may  be  tortured. 

Far  different  was  Michelangelo's  idea.  Just  as  in  the  Sistine  Chapel 
his  vision  went  beyond  the  affairs  of  our  daily  life  to  a  deeper  and 
eternal  reality,  so  was  it  here.  Had  he  merely  wanted  to  show  off  his 
skill  as  a  draughtsman,  it  would  have  been  easy  for  him  to  choose  fan- 
tastic scenes  like  those  revelled  in  by  contemporary  dwarfs.  His  use 
of  the  nude  has  a  deeper  meaning.  By  disrobing  Paul's  legionaries 
he  meant  to  rid  them  of  at  least  a  part  of  their  concreteness,  and,  as 


104  THE  VATICAN 

in  the  famous  battle  cartoon,  make  them  stand  less  for  the  individual 
soldier  than  as  an  expression  of  human  strength  and  vigor.  The  reality 
of  the  human  body  is  for  Michelangelo  an  ideal  thing — a  network  of 
lines  and  curves  suggesting  the  loftiest  thoughts.  His  motives  in  paint- 
ing the  Conversion  of  St.  Paul  were  the  same  as  those  that  moved  him 
when  at  work  on  the  end  wall  of  the  Sistine;  and,  as  Vasari  tells  us, — 
perhaps  repeating  what  the  master  told  him, — he  was  attracted  only 
by  the  perfection  of  his  art,  caring  nothing  about  such  accessories  as 
landscape,  trees  and  houses,  as  though  fearful  lest  such  minor  things 
should  distract  his  genius.  The  whole  motive  of  Michelangelo's  art 
may  be  summed  up  in  this  phrase  of  Vasari's:  "the  triumph  of  the 
human  body  over  every  other  form  in  creation — the  body  of  man  as 
the  mirror  of  the  world  in  which  all  else  is  reflected  and  through  which 
all  else  may  be  shown." 

The  second  picture  is  not  quite  so  interesting  as  the  first,  as  the  artist 
seems  to  have  confined  himself  more  to  the  actual  happenings.  In  the 
centre  the  executioners  are  raising  the  cross  on  which  St.  Peter  is 
nailed  head  downwards  in  deference  to  his  declared  unworthiness  to 
die  exactly  as  Christ  did.  A  newly  dug  hole  has  been  prepared  to  re- 
ceive the  cross.  To  the  right  a  group  of  women  are  awe-stricken  wit- 
nesses, and  foot-soldiers  and  men  on  horseback  move  around  as  though 
amused  at  the  horrible  sight.  There  is  a  blurred  landscape  of  hills  in 
the  distance.  The  head  of  the  martyred  Peter  is  marvellously  drawn. 
His  is  the  same  figure  that  in  the  Last  Judgment  gives  back,  with  a 
noble  gesture,  the  keys  to  the  Saviour,  and  his  face  here  is  the  face  at 
once  of  a  stoic  and  of  one  inspired.  He  looks  bej^ond  the  moment's 
pain  to  the  eternity  of  the  Church  which  is  built  on  his  tomb. 

One  might  almost  take  this  figure  as  a  symbol  of  Michelangelo  him- 
self. Racked  and  tortured  as  he  was  and  weighed  down  by  years,  he 
must  certainly  have  looked  forward  beyond  his  present  bitterness  to 
the  eternal  triumph  of  his  art,  all  the  more  so  as  at  that  verj^  time  he 
was  planning  to  raise  into  the  sky  the  loftiest  cupola  in  Christendom. 
It  w^as,  in  fact,  in  1547  that,  after  a  delay  of  twenty  years,  he  was  re- 
called to  resume  the  building  of  St.  Peter's.  At  the  age  of  seventy-three 
he  took  up  Bramante's  idea  and  planned  the  four  mighty  pillars  that 
were  to  hold  the  wondrous  cupola.  What  matter  if  the  Fates  cut  short 
his  life,  and  he  never  saw  his  work  finished?  He  saw  it  complete  in  his 
own  mind  and  more  actual  than  it  is  even  now,  when  it  hangs  in  the 
clouds  above  Rome. 

It  was  in  such  mighty  thoughts  that  the  giant's  last  days  were  spent. 
These  two  frescoes  in  the  Pauline  Chapel  are  the  last  ])aintings  from 
his  bi'iish,  the  crowning  works  of  a  life  spent  in  noting  every  move- 


THE  PAULINE  CHAPEL  105 

ment  and  every  gesture  so  as  to  fix  it  faithfully  on  his  painted  walls. 
From  the  calm  triumph  of  the  youthful  David  he  had  arrived  at  the 
awful  majesty  of  Christ  the  Judge;  and  now,  like  his  own  dying  Peter, 
he  could  face  death  unafraid,  convinced  that  it  would  lead  from  this 
world  of  reality  to  the  realm  of  the  divine  ideal  of  which  he  had  more 
than  once  caught  a  glimpse. 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 

|\  August  11,  1492,  Rodrigo  Borgia  was  elected  Pope  by 
the  Conclave  which  had  assembled  upon  the  death  of 
Innocent  VIII,  and  took  the  name  of  Alexander  VI. 
He  was  not  far  past  his  sixtieth  year,  so  that  he  could 
not  be  called,  for  a  Pope,  an  old  man;  but  he  knew 
only  too  well  that  he  lived  in  an  age  when  the  termi- 
nation of  life  did  not  depend  exclusively  upon  age 
and  natural  ailments.  Very  intelligible,  therefore,  was 
his  desire  that  his  plans  be  promptly  executed.  A  nephew  of  Calixtus 
HI  and  raised  to  the  Cardinalate  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  he  had  found 
himself  at  an  early  age  in  possession  of  wealth  which  enabled  him  to 
indulge  his  taste  for  worldly  pleasures  and  the  Spanish  temperament 
which  inclined  him  to  luxury.  He  could  now  freely  indulge  his  luxuri- 
ousness  with  something  like  approval  on  the  part  of  the  ecclesiastical 
world,  because,  even  before  coming  to  the  pontifical  throne,  he  had 
broken  through  all  ecclesiastical  bounds,  and,  not  yet  a  priest,  had 
called  down  on  himself  the  stern  reproof  of  Pius  II  for  his  orgies  in 
Siena.  It  was  not  until  a  much  later  period,  however,  that  public  indig- 
nation was  aroused  against  him,  and  then  not  so  much  because  of  his 
own  vices  as  because  of  the  crimes  of  his  son,  Cesare.  These  crimes, 
with  which  he  had  no  connection  and  which  were  indeed  perpetrated 
to  his  exceeding  sorrow,  brought  upon  him  more  hatred  than  his  earlier 
dissolute  and  immoral  life.  The  victims  of  Cesare  cast  a  darker  shadow 
over  the  reputation  of  Alexander  than  his  own  amours  with  Vannozza 
and  Giulia  Farnese. 

Alexander,  then,  had  barely  entered  the  Vatican  when  he  resolved 
to  prepare  for  himself  a  suite  of  apartments  that  would  be  a  marvel 
of  splendor,  rich  in  reliefs,  in  gilding,  in  marbles,  in  majolica,  in  furni- 
ture, in  hangings;  a  suite  so  magnificent  that  not  a  hand's  breadth  of 
ceiling  or  of  walls  should  be  left  untouched.  The  eye  and  the  mind 
w^ere  to  find  no  repose.  In  the  tiniest  unoccupied  space  memory  might 
lurk  to  awaken  remorse  or  painful  recollections.  Everywhere,  there- 
fore, splendor  and  gaiety  must  prevail.  Alexander  summoned  the  artist 
who  at  that  time  gave  the  most  satisfactory  proof  of  his  ability  to  com- 
prehend his  patron's  disposition  and  satisfy  his  desires — Bernardino 

no?:] 


108 


THE  VATICAN 


riic  ll:ill  of  the  Mysteries 

di  Betto,  called  II  Pinturicchio,  a  little  decrepit  creature,  hard  of  hear- 
ing (and  thus  sometimes  known  as  II  Sordicchio),  frequently  ailing, 
and  yet  working  indefatigably  all  his  life  to  bring  joy  into  the  lives  of 
others,  only  to  end  in  the  claws  of  a  worthless  wife  who  paraded  her 
shame  in  the  market-place  of  Siena.  Pinturicchio  had  already  worked 
in  Rome — in  the  Sistine  Chapel  with  Perugino,  and  then  in  the  Palazzo 
dei  Penitenzieri,  and  had  also  executed  the  frescoes  of  the  Bufalini 
Chapel  in  the  Church  of  Ara  Coeli  and  decorated  the  Belvedere  of  the 
Vatican  and  various  chapels  in  S.  Maria  del  Popolo.  He  was,  there- 
fore, much  in  vogue  as  a  decorator, — all  the  more  so  because,  if  not  the 
first  to  employ  grotteschi,  he  had  been  the  most  enthusiastic  cultivator 
of  that  method,  and  had  enriched  the  art  with  a  variety  of  new  and 
lively  forms.  His  attempts  were  at  first  confined  to  chiaroscuro,  like 
bas-relief,  but  by  degrees,  as  the  craze  for  excavations  grew  and  new 
forms  of  ancient  pictorial  decoration  were  revealed,  he  abandoned 
himself  to  a  grand  revel  of  colors  and  gilding. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  fever  for  research  and  for  the  fan- 
tastic then  in  vogue.    The  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms  were  com- 


THE  APPAHTAMENTO  BORGIA 


109 


David  Enthroned 


Door  in  the  Hall  of  the  Mysteries 


bined  in  one  wild,  joyous  riot  of  color.  The  recesses  of  the  Domus 
Aurea,  which  has  been  identified  by  some  as  the  Baths  of  Titus,  and 
other  buried  monuments  were  invaded  by  a  swarm  of  painters  who 
crawled  on  all  fours,  copied  the  decorations  by  the  light  of  torches  and 
candles,  and  came  out  from  their  labor  begrimed,  half  stupefied  and 
exhausted.  As  these  buried  chambers  were  called  grotte  (caves),  the 
ornamentations  copied  from  them  were  given  the  name  of  grotteschi, 
and  Lorenzo  Luzo,  when  he  emerged  from  underground  as  pale  as  one 
risen  from  the  dead,  was  nicknamed  II  Morto  da  Feltre  (The  Dead  Man 
of  Feltre).  That  Pinturicchio  was  a  remarkable  portrait  painter  is 
sufficiently  proved  by  the  Sanseverino  picture;  but,  not  to  mention 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  he  was  very  far  from  possessing  Signorelli's 
strength,  Perugino's  feeling,  Mantegna's  power,  the  ideality  of  Gio- 
vanni Bellini,  the  grace  of  Botticelli,  or  the  sincerity  of  Ghirlandaio. 
He  was  inferior  to  many  others  also,  and  it  is  clear  that  he  would  never 
have  been  sought  after  by  princes,  as  he  was,  nor  would  he  have 
acquired  such  a  reputation,  had  he  not  possessed  in  the  highest  degree 
the  qualities  of  a  decorator.  He  liked  to  draw  crowds  in  all  their  tumult 
of  form  and  color,  perhaps  because  he  recognized  himself  as  lacking 
in  the  gift  of  discerning  individuality,  divining  character  and  depicting 
personality.  On  the  other  hand,  his  genius  was  rich  in  such  external 
qualities  as  elegance  and  vivacity,  and  he  was  able  to  produce  an  art 


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THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


111 


The  Nativity 
Hall  of  the  Mysteries 


abounding  in  magnificence  and  calculated  to  please — an  art  which  we 
may  venture  to  call  meretricious,  for  in  it  a  wealth  of  ornament 
covered  but  a  poverty  of  heart.  This  splendor  it  was  that  won  him  the 
smiles  of  princes.  When  Rodrigo  Borgia  became  Pope,  Pinturicchio 
was  engaged  in  painting  the  Cathedral  of  Orvieto;  but,  having  em- 
broiled himself  in  a  lawsuit  there  with  the  authorities  in  charge  of  the 
work,  he  returned  to  Rome,  and  was  thus  able  to  take  over  the  decora- 
tion of  the  Appartamento  in  November,  1492.  Taking  shelter  under 
the  Pope's  protection  when  the  people  of  Orvieto  angrily  clamored  for 
his  return  to  complete  the  frescoes  he  had  begun  in  their  cathedral,  he 
was  able  to  finish  his  work  in  the  Vatican  by  the  end  of  1494. 

Any  one  who  now  looks  at  the  immense  amount  of  work  in  the  Ap- 
partamento Borgia,  must  be  astonished  to  learn  that  it  was  all  done 
in  about  two  years.  To  complete  it,  Pinturicchio  gathered  about  him 
a  number  of  assistants  who,  while  distinguished  by  different  methods 
in  painting,  have  never,  with  one  exception,  been  identified  with  any 
certainty.  The  work,  examined  in  detail,  shows  traits  of  good  and  of 
mediocre  artists,  hints  derived  from  Perugino,  Signorelli  and  others 
from  Tuscany  or  perhaps  from  still  more  distant  climes.  The  unity 
of  the  whole  was  preserved,  because  a  single  brain  conceived  it  all  and 
presided  over  the  work,  guiding  the  hands  of  those  who  executed  it  and 


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The  Ascension 
Hall  of  the  Mysteries 

retouching,  when  necessary,  what  they  had  painted  so  as  to  bring  it 
into  harmony  with  the  rest.  It  may  be  that  this  indispensable  care  on 
the  part  of  Pinturicchio  took  away  from  every  artist  just  that  personal 
quality  which  might  have  guided  critics  in  recognizing  him,  with  the 
result  that  the  merit  and  the  glory  of  the  work  have  been  attributed  to 
the  spirit  which  conceived  and  animated  it.  The  chambers  decorated 
at  that  time  are  five  in  number,  and  we  shall  accept  the  names  recently 
given  to  them  by  Ehrle  and  Stevenson:  the  Hall  of  the  Mysteries,  the 
Hall  of  the  Saints,  the  Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts,  the  Hall  of  the  Credo, 
and  the  Hall  of  the  Sibyls  (Sala  dei  Misteri,  Sala  dei  Santi,  Sala  delle 
Arti  Liberali,  Sala  del  Credo,  Sala  delle  Sibille).  Pinturicchio  did  a 
considerable  amount  of  work  with  his  own  hands  in  the  first  of  these, 
much  in  the  second,  very  little  in  the  third,  and  none  in  the  last  two. 
However,  we  must  repeat,  he  conceived  and  directed  the  whole. 

The  Hall  of  the  Mysteries  is  spanned  by  a  great  arch  dividing  it  into 
two  rectangular  portions  with  four  small  lunettes  and  two  large  ones.  In 
one  of  the  latter,  facing  the  window,  the  decoration  is  made  to  simulate 
two  other  lunettes  with  a  corbel  in  which  an  angel  stands  holding  in  his 
uplifted  hands  a  garland  with  the  Borgia-Doms  armorial  bearings — an 
ox  passant  in  the  first  half,  and  in  the  second  a  bend  of  gold  and  azure. 
The  walls  are  decorated  with  large  fillets,  Greek  fretwork,  and  gilded 
foliage  surrounding  green  spaces,  arabesqued  in  gold,  and  show  a  niim 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


113 


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The  Resurrection 
Hall  of  the  Mysteries 

ber  of  representations  of  marble  niches  within  which  are  sacred  objects 
and  church  furniture — vases,  plates,  a  triple-crowned  tiara,  a  reliquary 
and  a  small  bell.  The  painting  above  the  cornice  in  this  and  in  the 
other  halls  is  enlivened  with  stucco  and  papier-mache  designs  of  the 
heraldic  bearings  of  the  Borgia,  varied  in  every  way,  and  interspersed 
with  garlands  and  tabernacles;  and  over  everything  falls  a  golden 
shower  of  little  compressed  and  flattened  pellets  of  wax  covered  with 
gilding.  In  each  wall-veil  is  placed  a  disc.  These  discs  show  half- 
figures,  very  badly  done,  of  Zephaniah,  Jeremiah,  Joel,  Micah,  Malachi, 
Solomon,  Isaiah  and  David,  the  work  of  some  Umbrian  who  seems  to 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


115 


Details  from  the  Resurrection 
Hall  of  the  Mysteries 

have  followed  Fiorenzo  di  Lorenzo,  or,  better,  Antoniazzo  Romano.  Of 
the  frescoes  which  adorn  the  semicircular  spaces,  only  two  are  worth 
dwelling  upon  as  the  work  of  the  master.  The  Annunciation  is  not 
Pinturicchio's;  for,  while  it  reveals  Umbrian  characteristics,  it  is  not 
his,  nor  is  it  the  work  of  any  Lombard,  as  any  one  may  see,  for  at  this 
period  Lombard  would  mean  a  disciple  of  Foppa.  The  same  painter, 
in  fact,  keeps  the  exclusive  Umbrian  motives  in  the  adjacent  Nativity 
(Presepio),  and  at  the  same  time  recalls  Pinturicchio's  Nativity  in  the 
church  of  S.  Maria  del  Popolo,  as  well  as  the  Nativities  by  Perugino  in 
the  Sala  del  Cambio  at  Perugia  and  in  the  Villa  Albani.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi  has  somewhat  of  a  Tuscan  character; 
it  is  perhaps  bj'  some  artist  who  had  appeared  not  much  more  than  ten 
years  before  this  as  an  assistant  to  the  great  masters  who  decorated  the 
Sistine  Chapel.  Then  again,  the  Ascension  and  the  Coming  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  evidently  the  work  of  another  hand.  The  youthful  faces 
with  pointed  chins,  the  old  men  buried  beneath  the  heavy  and  inflated 
folds  of  their  garments,  the  hands  and  feet  with  dislocated  joints — all 
these  produce  a  somewhat  violent  effect.  The  works,  however,  are  not 
without  a  certain  solemnity  and  pomp,  evidently  derived  from  Luca 
Signorelli,  a  sublime  master,  if  rugged  and  uncouth. 

But,  while  Pinturicchio  supplied  the  designs  and  direction  to  those 
who  executed  the  above-mentioned  paintings,  his  own  hands  worked 


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only  on  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin  and  the  Resurrection.  In  the 
figure  of  St.  James  and  in  that  of  Marv  ascending  to  Heaven  we  see  the 
pictorial  characteristics  of  Antonio  del  Massaro  of  Viterbo,  called  II 
Pastura,  of  whom  we  shall  speak  later  on;  but  assuredly  Pinturicchio's 
is  the  figure  of  the  old  beardless  man,  enveloped  in  a  red  robe,  who, 
with  sleek,  flowing  hair  and  wath  his  hands  joined,  kneels  to  the  right 
of  the  Sepulchre.  This  figure  is  said — and  denied — to  represent  the 
papal  treasurer,  Francesco  Borgia,  son  of  Calixtus  III. 

We  now  come  to  the  masterpiece  of  the  room — and  of  all  the  rooms 
of  the  Appartamento  Borgia — namely,  the  Resurrection,  in  which  all 
except  the  figure  of  Christ  is  the  work  of  the  master.    This  figure 


is  heavy  and 
work  of  Anton- 
The  other  fig- 
beautiful  and 
iconographical- 
ricchio's.  In- 
portance  of  the 
ander  VI  and 
this  picture  was 
other  hand  but 
could  be  per- 
them.  The 

and  facing  to 
adoring  the 
His  mantle  of 
surrounded  by 


The   Madnnnii    :ind    Child 
Hali  of  the  Saints 


hard,  like  the 
iazzo  Romano. 
ures,artistically 
very  interesting 
ly,  are  Pintu- 
deed,  the  im- 
models  (Alex- 
Iiis  sons)  in 
such  that  no 
the  master's 
mitted  to  touch 
Pope,  kneeling 
the  right,  is 
openSepulchre. 
gold  brocade  is 
a   wide   border 


which  is  a  riot  of  pearls  and  gems;  before  him,  on  the  ground,  are  set 
the  triple-crowned  tiara  and  the  mitre.  He  has  his  hands  joined;  they 
are  encased  in  gloves  so  thin  as  to  interfere  in  no  way  with  the  contour 
of  the  shapely  fingers.  They  are  not  conventional  hands,  but  studies 
from  life,  just  as  are  the  plump  head,  with  the  gray  of  the  beard 
and  of  the  cropped  hair,  the  hooked  nose,  and  the  full  lips  that 
truly  reveal  the  luxurious  character  of  the  man.  It  is  worthy  of 
note,  too,  that  the  light  falling  on  this  extraordinary  face  suggests 
the  thought  that  the  Pope  himself  also  mounted  the  platform  and 
posed  for  the  artist.  Portraits  also — as  we  may  deduce  from 
their  type,  costumes,  grace  and  extreme  youthfulness — are  the  three 
youths  in  this  painting.  These  figures  take  the  place  of  the  usual 
rough,  fierce  soldiers  who,  sodden  with  wane  and  sprawling  on  the 
ground,  are  startled  by  the  sudden  commotion  about  the  grave  of  the 
risen  Christ.    At  that  time  there  were  actually  living  with  Alexander 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA  117 

VI  in  Rome,  besides  Lucrezia,  three  of  his  four  sons  by  Vannozza 
Catanei.  And  we  shall  presently  see  how  even  Pier  Luigi,  who  died 
when  about  five  years  old,  has  found  a  place  in  the  picture  in  a  very 
strange  way,  which  is  always  passed  over  unnoticed.  The  youth  to  the 
extreme  right,  dressed  in  red  and  turquoise  blue  (the  heraldic  colors 
of  the  Borgia),  is  evidently  about  twenty  years  old,  which  was  at  this 
time  the  real  age  of  Giovanni,  who  about  four  years  later  was  mur- 
dered and  thrown  into  the  Tiber;  judging  from  his  fair  hair,  the  second 


The  Hall  of  the  Saints 

youth,  a  handsome  youngster  of  about  eighteen,  wath  his  left  knee  on 
the  ground,  is  Cesare.  His  countenance  is  gentle  and  serene,  for  the 
shadow  of  his  crimes  has  not  yet  fallen  upon  him.  But  the  strangest 
figure  is  that  of  the  gentle,  blond  Jofre,  then  twelve  years  old.  He  is 
dressed  all  in  armor,  but  his  cuirass  is  broken  over  his  left  breast,  and 
within  appears  the  image  of  Pier  Luigi,  Alexander's  fourth  son,  who 
was  then  dead,  but  who  remained  ineffaceably  imprinted  on  the  heart 
of  the  youngest  of  his  surviving  brothers. 

Giorgio  Vasari  writes  that  "over  the  door  of  one  chamber"  Pintu- 
ricchio  painted  "the  Lady  Giulia  Farnese  as  a  Madonna,"  and  in  the 


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same    frame    the    head    of    Pope 

Alexander;  but  Vasari's  words  are 

simply  one  of  the  many  proofs 

which  show  how  largely  imagina- 
tion  has   exaggerated   the   faults 

and  the  audacity  of  this  Pope.    To 

be   sure,   he   had   once   been   the 

lover  of  Giulia  Farnese,  but  he 

neither  caused  his  portrait  to  be 

painted  in  the  act  of  adoring  her, 

much    less    caused    hers    to    be 

painted  in  the  halls  of  the  Vatican 

as  a  Madonna.    While  we  see  him 

in  the  fresco  adoring  the  Christ 

rising  from  the  Tomb,  in  the  scene 

of  the  Madonna  with  the  Infant, 

shown  in  a  round  frame  in  the 

Hall  of  the  Saints,  we  can  discover 

nothing  but  the  usual  Pinturicchio  type  of  Madonna— a  delicate,  gentle, 

sweet,  but  altogether  conventional  type. 
As  we  have  said,  it  was  in  the  Hall  of  the  Saints  that  the  master  did 

most  work,  beginning  with  the  Visitation,  a  subject  more  suitable  for 

the  Hall  of  the  Mysteries.    Amid  all  its  architectural  splendor,  there  is 

an  intimate,  familiar  beauty  in 
this  scene,  with  the  children  and 
young  women  intent  upon  wo- 
manly tasks — an  intimate  beauty 
which  seems  to  give  heightened 
relief  to  the  two  central  figures, 
those  of  the  Madonna  and  St. 
Elizabeth,  who  meet  and  embrace 
each  other.  More  simple  is  the 
adjoining  picture,  showing  St.  An- 
thony and  St.  Paul  the  Hermit  in 
the  desert,  faithful  to  the  icono- 
graphic  motive  which  lasted  down 
to  the  time  of  Velasquez  and  per- 
haps even  later.  The  two  hermit 
saints,  seated  against  a  steep  rock, 
are  sharing  the  bread  which  has 
been  brought  to  them  by  the 
raven,  which  is  seen  cleaving  the 


;iiul    SI,    l>;uil    111 
Mall    nf   the   Saints 


Hermit 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


119 


Detail  from  St.  Anthony  and  St.  P:uil  llu-  Hermit 
Hall  of  the  Saints 


Detail  from  the  MaH,M.l..i,i  ..i   ,M.  Niba.slian 
Hall  of  the  Saints 


The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian 
Hall  of  the  Saints 


120 


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St.  Susanna  and  the  EIcIlts 
Hall  of  the  Saints 

air  on  its  way  back  to  the  forest.  But  behind  St.  Anthony,  in  allusion  to 
his  temptation,  there  are  three  women  in  the  bloom  of  youth  and  in 
aspect  and  gesture  full  of  grace  and  seductiveness.  If,  however,  you 
look  closely,  you  will  find  there  are  horns  sprouting  from  their  heads, 
and  below  their  skirts,  instead  of  feet,  the  sharp  claws  of  the  falcon 
appear.  Critics  in  general  have  been  unwilling  to  admit  that  the  three 
demonesses,  and  still  less  the  two  austere  saints,  come  from  the  mild 
brush  of  Pinturicchio;  but  technical  examination  compels  us  to  assign 
to  him  this  interesting  work,  and  with  much  more  reason  than  the 
fresco  representing  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian,  in  which  perhaps 
nothing  is  his  except  the  general  idea — the  tine,  broad  composition. 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


121 


11(111  ii-ii.i».ai;ii,aiariiia»..n..i>,iiii\i>.iii»aiiini>ii>im(»u»ij>'.i»uf.i » (i  (Ui  n  n  n  i  >  m  ii  i>  ii  ii.ii  ri  oji  nj)t/)'/i  ii'jisoii 

The  Flight  and  Martyrdom  of  St.  Barbara 
Hall  of  the  Saints 

Characteristics  resembling  Perugino's  are  revealed  by  the  painter — 
rather,  perhaps,  the  painters — who  worked  here.  In  particular,  the 
figure  of  the  arrow-pierced  saint  shows  its  relationship  to  that  painted 
by  Perugino  at  Cergneto.  Alone  and  apart  is  seen  a  singular  figure  of 
a  Janissary  seated  on  the  ground  with  legs  crossed;  but  of  this  w^e  shall 
speak  presently,  when  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  other  Turkish 
figures. 

All  the  rest  of  the  pictures  in  this  hall  are  the  work  of  the  master — 
the  St.  Susanna,  the  St.  Barbara,  the  St.  Catherine,  and,  on  the  ceiling. 


122 


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Detail  from  tlic  I-'lij;ht  and  Martyrdom  of 

St.   liarbara 

Hall  of  the  Saints 


the  histories  of  Osiris,  of  Isis  and 
of  Argo.  The  garden  of  Susanna, 
with  its  gilded  paling  and  hedges 
of  rose  buslies,  the  magnificent 
fountain  with  three  basins,  and 
the  animals  placidly  resting  on 
the  grass,  is  not  Joachim's  Baby- 
lonian garden,  but  that  of  some 
rich  palace  or  delicious  villa  of 
the  Renaissance  period.  Susanna 
stands  in  the  centre,  about  to  enter 
the  cool  waters  of  the  fountain  it- 
self, when  she  is  attacked  by  two 
judges  of  the  people.  The  attitude 
of  the  two  elders  refutes  the  story 
that  Pinturicchio  had  painted 
Susanna  nude,  and  that  the  blue 
robe  was  added  afterwards.  It  is 
worth  noting,  too,  that  our  painter, 
usually  by  no  means  strong  in 
expression,  has  known  how  not 
only  to  put  life  into  the  scene,  but  to  give  an  expression  of  greedy 
salaciousness  to  the  senile  faces.  This  and  the  next  two  pictures 
show  that  Alexander  VI  took  pleasure  in  feminine  beauty  and  youth- 
fulness — even  in  his  saints.  Graceful  indeed  is  the  figure  of  St.  Bar- 
bara fleeing,  with  her  hands  clasped,  her  drapery  and  hair  streaming. 
The  composition,  however,  is  not  so  pleasing  owing  to  that  heavy  tower 
which  takes  up  two-thirds  of  the  space  to  be  filled  and  chokes  it  up — a 
tower  which  has  the  three  window^s  that  the  Saint  caused  to  open  in  it, 
in  allusion  to  the  Trinity,  and  the  wide  crack  through  which  she  mi- 
raculously escaped.  One  of  the  little  episodes  of  the  background  is 
interesting:  Barbara's  father  demands  of  a  shepherd  the  direction  of 
his  daughter's  flight,  and  the  shepherd,  in  punishment  for  his  betrayal 
of  her,  is  beginning  to  become  white,  like  the  sheep  around  him,  and 
turn  into  stone. 

The  large  fresco,  which  is  best  lighted  and  most  admired,  is  the  Dis- 
puta,  or  Disputation  of  St.  Catherine  with  the  fifty  philosophers 
brought  together  by  the  Emperor  Maximinus.  A  reason  has  been 
sought  for  the  preference  for  this  Saint  shown  by  Alexander  VI,  and, 
as  she  was  born  at  Alexandria,  there  may  be  a  suggested  connection 
between  the  name  of  the  city  and  that  of  the  Pope.  It  is  our  opinion, 
however,  that  the  Pope  had  chosen  St.  Catherine  as  the  natural  pa- 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


123 


troness  to  whose  special  protection  he  should  commend  his  children. 
The  scene,  which  is  plentifully  peopled,  stretches  over  a  valley,  and  the 
Disputation  takes  place  near  a  great  Roman  arch  like  that  of  Constan- 
tine.  Other  painters  also  seem  to  have  introduced  this  arch  into  their 
compositions,  notably  Perugino  in  his  Conferring  of  the  Keys.  The 
tigures  cluster  towards  the  sides  in  two  spirited  groups,  which  become 
more  spare  in  the  middle,  thus  leaving  room  for  a  few  figures,  the  chief 
among  which  are  the  Saint  and  the  Sage  who  is  pointing  out,  in  a  book 
held  by  a  graceful  page,  the  jiassage  which  the  Saint  is  at  the  moment 


The  Disjuita  of  St.  CatluTiiU' 
Hall  of  the  Saints 

engaged  in  discussing.  The  group  on  the  right — foot-soldiers  and 
horsemen  with  a  greyhound — seems  to  have  returned  from  a  hunting 
expedition,  and  has  unexpectedly  halted  at  the  sight  of  the  Court  of 
Maximinus;  on  the  left,  the  Emperor,  seated  on  his  throne  and  sur- 
rounded by  his  people,  is  listening  attentively  to  what  Catherine  is  say- 
ing. It  is  a  truly  marvellous  effect  of  landscape,  architecture,  costumes, 
colors,  intended  perhaps  to  recall  to  posterity  the  great  festivities  which 
had  been  held  not  long  before  this  for  the  coronation  of  Alexander, 
with  the  like  superb  attendance  and  with  triumphal  arches  adorned 
with  the  Borgia  device. 

Several  things  in  this  fresco  have  engaged  the  attention  of  historians 
and  art  critics.    In  the  first  place,  we  must  say  that  Vasari's  observation 


124 


THE  VATICAN 


Details  from  the  Disputa  of  St.  Catherine 
Hall  of  the  Saints 


■ 

Px^'^w 

"t^^^T" ' '^* ''fljp^^^  ^^*^i           ^^^^^^^1 

f* 

Biy  ^W— -j^^      ^jX^^        ^flt  ■                     ^ 

Details  from  the  Disputa  of  St.  Catherine 
Hall  of  the  Saints 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


125 


The  Death  of  Osiris 
Detail  from  the  Ceiling  of  the  Hall  of  the  Saints 

on  the  artistic  impropriety  of  the  reliefs  introduced  by  Pinturicchio, 
even  more  in  this  picture  than  in  the  neighboring  ones,  seems  to  be 
just.  "Having  made  in  the  said  halls,"  he  says,  "a  history  of  St.  Cathe- 
rine, he  represents  the  arches  of  Rome  in  relief  and  depicts  the  figures 
in  such  a  manner  that,  while  the  figures  stand  in  front  and  the  build- 
ings behind,  those  things  which  are  diminished  in  size  come  more  for- 
ward than  those  which,  according  to  the  eye,  are  increased  in  size— a 
very  great  heresy  in  our  art."  It  is  certainly  true  that  in  some  instances 
the  shadow  of  the  stucco  buildings  falls  on  parts  of  the  figures  which 
should  appear  in  the  foreground  and  in  the  light. 

But  more  interesting  still  than  this  reflection,  worthy  as  it  is  of 
Vasari's  sagacity,  are  the  different  Oriental  figures  which  are  seen  in 
this  painting,  and  which  were  already  foreshadowed  by  the  seated 
Janissary  watching  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian— figures  which 
seem,  as  Seitz  says,  to  have  "jumped  in  here  out  of  another  world."  In 
point  of  fact,  they  have  "jumped  in  here  out  of  another  world,"  be- 
cause Pinturicchio,  when  he  painted  them,  took  them  from  the  draw- 
ings which  Gentile  Bellini  had  made  during  a  residence  at  Constanti- 


126 


THE  VATICAN 


Detail  from  the  Ceiling  of  the 
Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 


Fireplace  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Liberal  Arts 


llif  Hall  ol  the  Libei-Lil  Arts 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


127 


Grammar 
Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 

nople  that  lasted  fi'om  the  latter  part  of  1479  to  the  latter  part  of  1480. 
They  are  drawings  "of  individuals,"  and  are  mentioned  by  Angiolello 
as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  either  the 
originals  or  copies  are  still  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  the 
Louvre,  and  the  Stadel  Institute  at  Frankfurt-am-Main.  Pinturicchio 
made  use  of  them  not  only  for  these  frescoes  of  the  Appartamento 
Borgia,  but  also  for  those  of  the  Piccolomini  Library  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Siena.  It  is  not  improbable  that  such  Oriental  figures  contained  an 
allusion  to  some  particular  Turkish  personage,  but,  apart  from  various 
and  uncertain  conjectures,  historical  iconography  has  made  little  prog- 


128 


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THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


129 


Aiithnu'tio 
Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 


Rhetoric 
Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 


Arcb.Tology 
Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 


Music 
Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 


130 


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Detail  from  the  Ceiling  of  the 
Hall  of  the  Credo 


ress  towards  identifying  them.  In 
the  Disputa  of  St.  Catherine  we 
see  on  the  right  a  Turk  on  horse- 
back, an  Albanian  on  the  left,  and 
another  Turk  in  full  view  near 
the  Saint.  Recalling  the  fact  that 
Djem,  called  Zizim,  a  son  of  Mo- 
hammed II,  was  at  that  time  in 
Italy,  exiled  from  his  own  country 
for  his  attempt  to  wrest  the  Otto- 
man sceptre  from  his  brother, 
Bajazet  II,  the  art  critics  and  his- 
torians would  fain  find  his  por- 
trait here,  some  holding  that  he  is 
the  figure  on  horseback,  and  some 
the  figure  on  foot.  No  greater 
credence,  however,  is  to  be  placed 
in  their  opinions  than  is  accorded 
to  those  who  hold  that  Lucrezia 
Borgia  is  represented  here  by  the 
Saint — a  figure  which  surely  does 
not  represent  a  girl  who  was  at  this  period  scarcely  thirteen  years. 
Next  to  the  Hall  of  the  Saints  comes  the  Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts,  and 
it  may  perhaps  be  remarked  here  without  impropriety  that  the  present 
writer  has  been  generally  admitted  to  have  first  discerned  and  identi- 
fied one  of  Pinturicchio's  collaborators — beyond  question  the  greatest 
of  his  collaborators — in  this  hall.  The  scheme  of  the  decorations  in 
this  anteroom  is  found  in  the  triviiim  and  qiiadrwiiim  which  formed 
the  basis  of  learning  in  the  Middle  Ages.  We  see,  accordingly,  personi- 
fications of  Grammar,  Rhetoric,  Dialectic,  Astronomy,  Geometry,  Arith- 
metic, Music,  with  appropriate  instruments  and  emblems,  and  figures 
of  the  learned  personages  and  of  artists,  ancient  and  modern.  In  a 
work  executed  by  many  collaborators  it  is,  as  a  rule,  very  difficult  to 
determine  which  portion  is  due  to  one  artist  and  which  to  another. 
How,  indeed,  is  it  possible  to  say  where  the  brush  of  one  painter 
stopped  and  another's  took  up  the  work?  Artists  who  work  together, 
besides  coming  usually  from  one  and  the  same  school  or  from  the  same 
locality  and  hence  being  already  harmonized  in  type  and  color,  natu- 
rally seek  to  merge  the  variety  of  their  products  in  the  same  tonality 
and  the  same  feeling,  so  long  as  they  are  engaged  on  the  same  work. 
Moreover,  where  there  is  one  predominating  spirit,  all  endeavor  to 
keep  pace  with  him  and  confine  themselves  to  his  manner,  even  when 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA 


131 


Astronomy 
Hall  of  the  Liberal  Arts 


Another  Hall  in  the  Appartamento  Borgia 


THE  VATICAN 


jijWjrj)Pf)wp)Wfpp|yyjwtp»jPffW»pf|tf||ff||yf||ffJIWfJ>ffpfJ!. 


Frii-ze  in  the  Hall  of  the  Saints 

he  does  not  retouch  the  various  parts  with  his  own  hand  and  bring  them 
into  harmony  with  one  another.  If,  however,  an  artist  has  been  per- 
mitted to  work  upon  figures  and  whole  groups  with  a  certain  degree 
of  freedom  and  breadth,  then  inevitably  his  personality  cannot  be 
altogether  suppressed,  but  flashes  out  in  traits  which  are  fleeting,  per- 
haps, but  yet  clear  and  revealing.  And  it  was  one  such  moment  which 
revealed  the  great  part  played  in  the  Hall  of  the  Mysteries  and  in  that 
of  the  Liberal  Arts  by  Antonio  del  Massaro  of  Viterbo,  called  II  Pastura: 
for  in  the  former  hall  his  are  certainly— and  every  one  now  agrees  in 
this— the  Coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin, 
and  in  the  latter  Music,  Rhetoric  and  Astronomy.  Venturi,  who 
promptly  accepted  our  view,  next  indicated  Grammar,  Geometry  and 
Arithmetic  as  works  of  Tiberio  of  Assisi,  and  Dialectic  as  probably  the 
work  of  Jacopo,  called  LTndaco. 

In  the  last  two  halls,  which  are  included  in  the  tower  constructed  by 
Borgia  himself  as  soon  as  he  became  Pope,  Pinturicchio's  work  appears 
no  more,  except  in  the  way  of  directive  conception.  Here  everything 
still  turns  upon  the  direction  given  by  his  decorative  aims,  but  his  own 
hand  is  altogether  absent.  The  Hall  of  the  Credo  has  on  its  ceiling 
elegant  decorative  motives  and  the  usual  Borgia  devices,  and  in  each 
lunette  are  two  half  figures,  one  of  an  Apostle  and  the  other  of  a 
Prophet.  And  since,  "according  to  a  medieval  legend,  the  Credo  was 
composed  by  the  Apostles  before  they  separated  to  evangelize  the 
world,  in  such  a  manner  that  each  one  of  them  wrote  one  article  of  it, 
so  one  verse  was  attributed  to  each  one  of  them,"  which  verses  may  be 
read  on  great  flowing  scrolls.  It  seems  to  us  that  in  these  figures,  as  in 
those  of  the  Sibyls,  which  give  its  name  to  the  next  and  last  hall,  there 
are  considerable  indications  of  the  hand  that  painted  Grammar,  which, 
according  to  Venturi,  would  be  that  of  Tiberio  of  Assisi.  In  the  selec- 
tion of  tiie  Sibyls,  the  artist,  or  whoever  advised  him,  "let  himself  be 


>1 

Si 


cisaj 


134 


THE  VATICAN 


guided  by  the  little  books  then  in  popular  use,  in  which  the  appearance 
and  dress  of  each  [Sibyl]  is  described,  the  oracles  of  each  one  being 
accompanied  by  an  analogous  passage  from  one  of  the  Prophets  or  a 
text  from  the  New  Testament."  The  artist  "did  not  invent,  but  drew 
from  these  books  the  figures  and  the  legends  which  appear  on  his 
scrolls."  But  here  the  ceiling  is  particularly  interesting.  For,  besides 
the  subjects  which  are  taken  from  Egyptian  mythology  and  glorify  the 


mmmw^mmmMmmwf} 


1  ru'zc  sliiiwiiii;  Portrait  of  AIl'xuiuIli'  \ 


Hall  of  the  Saints 

OX,  the  device  of  the  Borgia  (just  as  did  the  histories  of  Isis  and 
Osiris  on  the  ceiling  of  the  Hall  of  the  Saints),  it  displays,  in  octagonal 
settings,  crowded  scenes  representing  terrestrial  actions  under  astro- 
logical influences.  Through  the  heavens  proceed  the  chariots  of  Sat- 
urn, Venus,  Mercury,  Jupiter,  Diana  and  Apollo,  drawn  by  dragons, 
bulls,  stags,  eagles,  dolphins  and  horses  respectively.  In  another  octa- 
gon is  displayed  an  armillary  sphere,  the  emblem  of  Astrology.  The 
Signs  of  the  Zodiac  are  set  among  the  clouds,  and  below  are  unfolded 
the  human  activities  which  are  favored  by  their  influences.  Saturn, 
with  his  scythe,  protects  the  works  of  justice,  piety  arid  love,  over  which 
he  presided  after  Janus  received  him  into  Latium;  Venus,  with  Love 


THE  APPARTAMENTO  BORGIA  135 

speeding  the  dart,  watches  over  various  couples  of  lovers,  while  Mer- 
cury, devoting  himself  to  students  only,  overlooks  a  number  of  other 
matters  entrusted  to  him.  Under  Jupiter  pass  the  hunters,  with  dog 
and  falcon;  and  under  the  Moon,  fishermen.  Mars  is  watching  a  battle; 
Apollo  looks  down  on  a  quiet  assemblage  of  "great  souls."  Lastly, 
geomancers  and  astrologers  stand  under  the  astrolabe,  engaged  in  dis- 
cussion.   The  artist  of  these  designs  was  some  follower  of  Perugino. 

That,  as  a  whole,  the  work  completed  under  the  sole  direction  of 
Pinturicchio  fully  satisfied  Alexander  VI  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the 
Pope  soon  afterwards  commissioned  him  to  decorate  with  frescoes 
other  chambers  on  the  Courtyard  of  St.  Peter's.  These  frescoes  have 
since  perished,  and  a  hall  constructed  for  this  Pope  by  Antonio  da  San- 
gallo  in  the  great  tower  of  the  Castel  S.  Angelo  was  destroyed  by  order 
of  Urban  VHI.  The  artists  who  had  enthusiastically  labored  at  this 
great  work  and  acquired  the  master's  festive  methods  of  decoration 
were  scattered  throughout  Rome  and  all  its  territory  to  paint  in 
churches  and  dwellings,  where  they  left  works  commonly  ascribed  to 
Pinturicchio. 

As  soon  as  the  star  of  the  Borgia  had  set  in  a  lake  of  blood  amid  a 
tempest  of  curses,  Alexander's  suite  in  the  Vatican  was  straightway 
abandoned  as  a  place  accursed.  Scratches  and  inscriptions  made  with 
the  point  of  nail  or  knife  are  found  there,  dating  from  the  years  of  the 
early  Cinquecento  and  leaving  us  to  suppose  that  by  that  time  the  halls 
of  the  Appartamento  had  become  the  abode  of  servants  or  of  soldiers. 
Later  they  were  divided  into  a  number  of  cells  for  use  during  the  Con- 
clave, and  still  later  they  w^ere  given  up  to  the  minor  officials  of  the 
palace,  who  had  their  quarters  there  during  Holy  Week.  It  was  only 
in  1816  that  Pius  VII  caused  them  to  be  restored,  as  restoration  was  then 
understood,  to  afford  accommodation  for  the  pictures  returned  from 
France  after  the  Treaty  of  Vienna.  At  a  later  period  Pius  IX,  finding 
the  halls  too  dark,  removed  the  pictures  and  replaced  them  by  the 
library  of  Cardinal  Angelo  Mai.  This  remained  there  until  the  day 
when  it  seemed  to  Leo  XIII  that  the  Appartamento  Borgia  ought  to  be 
cleared  of  all  encumbrances,  restored,  and  solemnly  opened  to  the 
public,  an  event  which  took  place  in  March,  1897. 

To-day  the  Appartamento  Borgia  presents  a  calm  and  smiling  aspect, 
but  our  thoughts  travel  back  to  the  terrible  hours  when  the  splendor  of 
the  gilded  ceilings  and  the  graceful  paintings  on  the  walls  had  no  longer 
power  to  assuage  the  grief  of  Alexander  VI  or  to  lessen  the  paroxysms 
of  the  anger  of  Cesare  when,  from  the  tower  built  by  his  father,  he  had 
to  witness  the  ruin  of  his  own  fortune.  All  his  dreams  of  glory  had 
melted  awav,  but  the  dreams  of  Pinturicchio  remain  for  ever. 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


l^^^^^p'^'lN  November  26,  1507,  Julius  H  gave  up  living  in  the 
■'■■^T'T^^''^^'^^  it  Appartamento  Borgia,  where  everything  spoke  of  the 
*^^^3  "  '^h  abhorred  Alexander  VI,  and  took  up  his  rooms  on 
the  next  floor  above,  in  that  portion  of  the  Vatican 
Palace  formerly  occupied  by  Nicholas  V,  where  there 
was  and  still  is  a  glorious  chapel  with  frescoes  by  Fi'a 
Angelico.  Bramante,  the  architect,  set  to  work  at  once 
to  get  together  artists  to  decorate  worthily  these 
rooms,  wliicii,  il  we  are  to  believe  Vasari,  though  his  opinion  has  been 
recently  contested,  had  already  many  important  frescoes  by  such  men 
as  Andrea  del  Castagno,  Bonfigli,  and  Piero  della  Francesca. 

Vasari  will  have  it  that  Julius  II  caused  these  works  to  be  destroyed 
to  make  room  for  new  works  by  modern  masters.  In  the  autumn  of 
1508  the  work  began.  In  one  of  the  rooms — that  of  the  Fire  in  the 
Borgo — Perugino  painted  the  groinings  of  the  roof  with  the  Trin- 
ity between  the  Twelve  Apostles,  Christ  between  the  allegorical  figures 
of  Grace  and  .lustice,  Christ  tempted  by  Satan.  Giovanni  Antonio 
Bazzi,  known  also  as  II  Sodoma,  painted  the  roof  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Signatura,  and  Baldassarre  Peruzzi  the  roof  in  the  Hall  of  Heliodorus. 
But  towards  the  beginning  of  1509  these  masters,  together  with  Bra- 
mantino  and  Lorenzo  Lotto,  who  worked  with  them,  were  dismissed 
and  the  entire  decorative  scheme  was  put  in  the  hands  of  Raphael  of 
Urbino,  a  young  man  hardly  twenty-five  years  old,  who  had  recently 
come  to  Rome  and  had  at  once  won  over  the  Pope.  It  may  have  been 
harsh  on  the  part  of  the  Delia  Rovere  Pope  to  dismiss  the  elderly  Peru- 
gino and  his  companions,  but  in  doing  so  he  gave  Raphael  a  chance  to 
create  his  masterpieces.  The  Pope's  act  gave  birth  to  a  new  era  in  the 
art  of  Italy,  and  the  Stanze  painted  by  Raphael  were  a  new  triumph  for 
the  human  mind. 

Raphael  began  with  the  room  which  as  early  as  1513  was  already 
known  as  the  Signatura  and  seems  to  have  been  intended  as  the  private 
library  of  Julius  II.  Therein  he  created  one  of  his  masterpieces  which 
has  been  ever  since  the  wonder  of  art  lovers,  and  has  inspired  pages  of 
rapture  as  a  work  that  breathes  the  spirit  of  all  time  and  expresses  not 
only  the  esthetic  ideal  of  its  own  age,  but  breathes  a  very  breath  of 
eternity. 

[137] 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Hall  nf  the  Signatiir: 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


139 


To  grasp  the  link  between  the  various  paintings  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Signatura  we  must  dwell  a  little  on  the  paintings  on  the  roof,  where  we 
find  four  medallions  containing,  under  female  forms,  Theology,  Phi- 
losophy, Poetry,  and  Justice.  These  four  beautiful  figures,  throned 
on  the  clouds,  stand  out  against  a  golden  background  of  imitation 
mosaic  and  are  surrounded  by  angels  holding  labelled  scrolls.  Theol- 
ogy {Divinarum  reriiin  notitia)  is  seated  crowned  with  olive  leaves 
and  holds  a  closed  book  on  her  knees,  while  with  her  right  hand  she 


Fortitude,  I'nidencc  nnd  Temperance 

seems  to  be  pointing  out  the  painting  on  the  wall  below  where  the 
Disputa  is  shown.  Philosophy  {Causarum  cognifio),  seated  on  a 
throne  supported  by  two  figures  of  Diana  of  Ephesus,  is  holding  mas- 
sive tomes  on  which  are  wa'itten  Moralis  and  Natiiralis,  and  seems  to 
be  absorbed  in  deep  thought.  The  School  of  Athens  is  shown  below. 
Poetry  (Niimine  afflafiir)  is  an  attractive  winged  figure  crowned  with 
laurel,  holding  in  her  left  hand  a  lyre  and  in  her  right  hand  a  book,  her 
eyes  afire  with  inspiration.  Below  Parnassus  is  shown.  Lastly  comes 
Justice  {lus  suum  uniciiique  trihuit)  with  the  sword  and  the  scales. 

In  the  presence  of  these  figures  the  mind  calls  up  the  allegories  of  the 
Trecento  and  the  Quattrocento,  but  how  are  we  to  trace  even  an  ideal 


140 


THE  VATICAN 


i  liu  (.iili/jy  III   llic  Ihill  111    IIk-  Sigiiatura  and   Dt-lail^ 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL  141 

connection  between  them?  Raphael  drew  his  wonderful  creations 
from  his  own  mind  and  brain,  clothed  them  with  colors  all  his  own, 
nurtured  them  on  his  own  lofty  thoughts,  so  that  whereas  the  symboli- 
cal attributes  used  by  the  painters  of  former  days  with  their  figures 
served  as  a  label  to  identify  and  point  out  the  subject,  the  very  use  of 
such  symbols  seems  superfluous  in  the  case  of  the  figures  in  the  Hall 
of  the  Signature,  since  at  sight  the  figure  of  Theology  actually  calls  up 


Parnassus 

divine  thoughts,  and  the  eyes  of  Philosophy  are  filled  wath  understand- 
ing, and  Justice  has  all  the  dignity  of  Law,  and  Poetry  has  all  the  divine 
fire  of  Art. 

In  the  four  oblong  spaces  in  the  angles  of  the  roof,  set  in  frames  of 
rich  borders,  he  has  painted  for  us  Original  Sin,  Astronomy,  Apollo  and 
Marsyas,  and  the  Judgment  of  Solomon,  subjects  closely  related  to 
the  larger  pictures  beloM^  them,  and  all  treated  with  charm  and 
originality. 

On  the  walls  of  the  hall  Raphael  has  depicted  scenes  relating  to  the 
four  great  powers  that  rule  the  life  of  man.  On  the  wall  opposite  the 
windows  is  the  least  intricate  of  all :  the  Glorification  of  Jurisprudence. 
In  the  centre  of  the  wall  is  set  a  window,  and  in  the  lunette  above  it  the 


c 
o 

u 

V 

H 


[142  3 


A   Detail   from  Parnassus 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL  143 

painter  has  placed  the  three  in- 
separable companions  of  Law, 
Fortitude,  Prudence,  and  Temper- 
ance. They  are  three  wonderful 
studies  in  womanhood  and  ad- 
mirably arranged  to  fit  the  space. 
Fortitude,  armed  with  helmet  and 
breastplate,  carries  instead  of  the 
usual  sword  a  leafy  branch  of  oak 
— the  oak  of  the  Delia  Rovere  fam- 
ily. Temperance,  on  the  opposite 
side,  is  a  gentle,  modest  figure 
holding  a  bridle  in  her  hand  and 
turned  towards  a  winged  genius 
who  is  pointing  towards  the  sky; 
higher  up  in  the  centre  is  noble, 
serious  Janus-headed  Prudence 
together  with  two  boys,  one  of 
whom  presents  a  mirror,  and  the 
other  a  torch.  Here  again  the  mas- 
ter has  conveyed  his  idea  without  the  aid  of  adventitious  symbols. 

To  the  right  and  left  of  the  window  he  has  painted  the  Giving  of 
Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Law.  On  the  narrower  part  of  the  wall  to  the 
left  the  Emperor  Justinian,  seated  on  a  throne,  is  handing  his  book  of 
Pandects  to  Tribunianus,  who  is  kneeling  before  him,  in  the  presence 
of  the  chief  jurists.  The  scene  is  treated  after  the  manner  of  the  an- 
cient bas-reliefs.  To  the  right  of  the  window,  where  there  is  more 
space,  we  see  Gregory  IX  depicted  as  Julius  II  handing  his  Decretals  to 
the  consistorial  jurist  kneeling  at  his  feet.  Around  him  are  many 
prelates  and  characteristic  portraits.  The  scene  is  full  of  nobility  and 
simplicity  at  the  same  time.  When  at  work  on  it  Raphael  must  have 
had  in  mind  the  fresco  by  Melozzo  da  Forli  representing  Platina  kneel- 
ing before  Sixtus  IV. 

On  the  opposite  wall,  with  the  window  looking  on  the  Cortile  di  Bel- 
vedere, Raphael  has  represented  the  Triumph  of  Poetry.  This  Par- 
nassus is  a  joyous  composition  wherein  all  is  charm,  grace,  and 
elegance.  On  the  top  of  the  sacred  mount  Apollo  is  seated  playing  a 
viola,  and  ringed  around  him  are  the  Muses  and  laurel-crowned  poets: 
Homer,  Sappho,  Pindar,  Virgil,  Dante,  figures  of  rare  elegance  scat- 
tered in  groups,  are  conversing  among  the  laurel  trees  under  a  sky  of 
limpid  blue.  The  whole  picture  in  its  ease  and  grace  breathes  the  very 
soul  of  the  Renaissance.    The  poets  of  antiquity  live  again  in  Raphael's 


144 


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A  Philosopher 


Francesco  della  Revere 


Raphael   and    Sii.Ii.uki  I'liilo  ;iii(l   Aiiilolle 

Details  from  the  School  of  Athens 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


145 


fc^ 

i 

^^^mi!<i*.iM 

Pa^ 

isui 

""".;"  ^ 

.^PjH^ 

#, ... . .rri 

^^PVi 

Sts.  Bernard  and  Jerome 


Dante  Alighieri 


:;i«%, 

& 


The  Disputa  del  Sacramento  and  iJetails 


146 


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The  Ceiling  in  the  Hah  ot  Heliodorus 

fresco  as  if  they  were  sharing  in  the  Humanist  movement  of  the  Cinque- 
cento  with  their  Christian  brothers,  and  it  seems  as  if  at  the  playing  of 
the  young  god  a  wave  of  delight  is  filling  the  spaces  of  the  air. 

Now  we  come  to  the  magnificent  composition  on  the  left  wall  known 
as  the  School  of  Athens,  and  as  the  breath  of  Poetry  came  to  us  from 
the  Parnassus,  here  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  gravity  and  dignity  of 
thought  that  win  our  admiration  and  claim  our  respect.  No  longer  do 
we  see  the  clear  sky  of  Parnassus,  but  we  find  in  the  background  a 
noble  cruciform  building  surmounted  by  a  cupola  and  with  steps  lead- 
ing up  to  its  entrance.  From  the  door  are  seen  coming  forth  with 
majesty  between  the  opening  lines  of  their  disciples  the  two  great  mas- 
ters of  philosophy,  Plato  and  Aristotle,  who  are  making  their  way  to 
the  edge  of  the  steps  where  Diogenes,  the  philosopher  of  simplicity, 
humbly  reclines.  From  the  figures  of  the  two  princes  of  knowledge 
the  divine  light  of  intelligence  radiates.  Aloof  to  the  right  of  the  cen- 
tral group  there  are  two  beautiful  tigures  representing  a  boy  writing 
and  an  old  man  deep  in  thought.  To  the  left  a  band  of  dialecticians  is 
gathered  around  Socrates,  who  is  counting  off  syllogisms  on  his  lingers. 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


147 


Tlu'  Hull  of  lli'lioddriis 


The  Mass  of  Bolsciia 


148  THE  VATICAN 

In  this  group  a  fair  youth  with  helmet  and  body  armor  represents 
Alcibiades.  Farther  on  around  the  base  of  a  pillar  there  are  other  tig- 
ures,  one  a  youth  reading  a  book,  and  near  him  is  a  beautiful  study  of 
a  child's  head,  said  to  be  the  young  Federigo  Gonzaga.  In  the  fore- 
ground stands  a  group  of  arithmeticians  and  musicians.  Pythagoras 
is  there  kneeling  on  one  knee  and  writing  in  a  book,  and  on  his  right  a 
boy  stands  holding  a  slate  showing  the  Pythagorean  numbers.     A 


Dilail  Iniiii  Ihc  Mass  (jI   l!<ilsina 

man  in  Oriental  garb,  Averroes,  and  another  said  to  be  Boetius  are 
reading  what  Pythagoras  writes.  To  the  right  of  this  group  is  a  young 
man  in  a  white  robe  trimmed  with  gold,  whom  tradition  identifies  as 
Francesco  Maria  delta  Rovere,  Duke  of  Urbino,  and  before  him  is  a 
handsome  personage  pointing  out  what  is  written  in  his  book.  Farther 
over  in  the  centre  of  the  steps  a  philosopher  is  engaged  in  writing. 
Over  in  the  opposite  corner  there  is  a  group  of  geometricians  and 
astronomers.  Euclid,  depicted  as  Bramante,  is  there  explaining  a  fig- 
ure on  a  slate,  and  four  of  his  pupils  are  looking  on.  Behind  this  group 
there  is  a  king  holding  a  terrestrial  sphere.  He  is  Ptolemy,  and  another 
figure  holding  a  celestial  globe  showing  the  stars  is  Zoroaster,  and 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


149 


Detail  from  the  Mass  of  Bolsena 


Detail  from  the  F.xpulsion  of  Heliodorus 
from  the  Temple 


The  Expulsion  of  Heliodorus  from  the  Temple 


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The  Meeting  of  St.  Leo  IV  and  Attila 


The  Freeing  of  St.  Peter  from  Prison 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


151 


in  the  extreme  corner  on  the  right  we  have  pictures  of  Raphael  himself 
and  of  Sodoma,  his  co-workman. 

Many  explanations  have  been  made  concerning  this  wonderful 
work;  efforts  have  been  made  to  find  symbolism  in  it  everywhere,  and 
to  give  a  name  to  every  figure.  All  that  is  but  a  waste  of  time.  Enough 
for  us  that  we  see  in  that  miracle  of  harmony  and  beauty  the  noblest 
glorification  of  the  activities  of  the  human  mind,  of  the  unending  quest 
of  man's  spirit  for  truth  and  knowledge,  and  of  the  power  and  light  of 
man's  unaided  human  reason.  It  is  very  probable  that  Raphael  was 
aided  in  his  choice  by  some  of  his  learned  friends,  and  Sadoleto  is  one 
often  mentioned,  but  to  the  youthful  artist  alone  belongs  the  glory  of 
having     created   _  this   noblest  ex- 

pression  of   the 


human  mind  in 
ing  way.  We  are 
to  face  with 
with  ambiguous 
and  allegories; 
confronted  with 
dear  to  medieval 
the  pure  light  of 
expression  in 
ure  in  a  setting 
tectonic  lines 
beauty  and  grace 
In  this  same 
natura,  on  the 
School  of  Athens 
important      and 


Ancient  Mosaic  in  the  centre  of  the 
Hall   of  Heliodonis 


activity  of  the 
a  new  and  strik- 
no  longer  face 
thrones  or  seats, 
personifications 
we  are  no  longer 
the  attributes  so 
schoolmen;  but 
thought  finds  its 
the  human  fig- 
where  the  archi- 
remind  us  of  the 
of  Classic  times. 
Hall  of  the  Sig- 
wall  opposite  the 
there  is  another 
most     beautiful 


composition  known  as  the  Disputa,  a  very  inappropriate  title,  as  the 
picture,  rather  than  a  dispute,  presents  a  hymn  of  glory  in  honor  of  the 
mystery  of  the  Redemption.  A  girdle  of  clouds  divides  the  composition 
into  two  parts,  separating  heaven  from  earth.  In  the  centre  of  heaven, 
surrounded  by  a  golden  glory,  Christ  is  seated  on  clouds,  stretching  out 
his  wounded  hands  as  though  offering  himself  in  oblation  and  food  for 
the  faithful.  Reside  him  are  the  Raptist  and  the  Madonna  in  adoration. 
Above  appears  the  bust  of  the  Eternal  Father,  holding  in  his  left  hand 
the  earthly  globe  and  blessing  with  his  right;  lower  down,  on  either  side 
of  the  Redeemer,  there  are  two  groups  representing  the  elect  in  heaven, 
sitting  in  semicircular  rows,  saints,  apostles,  and  martyrs.  Reneath  the 
figure  of  Christ  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  form  of  a  dove  is  coming  to 
earth,  forming,  so  to  speak,  a  point  of  union  between  the  two  parts  of 


152 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Hall  of  the  Fire  in  the  Borgo  and  Ceiling 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


153 


Details  from  the  Fire  in  tlie  Borgo 

the  picture.  The  dove  is  turiietl  towards  the  altar,  which  holds  the 
centre  of  the  lower  half  of  the  fresco.  On  the  altar  stands  a  golden 
monstrance  showing  the  sacred  Host,  which  is  the  central  point  of  the 
whole  composition,  catching  the  eye  of  the  onlooker  at  once.  On  either 
hand  are  the  doctors  of  the  Church,  saints,  popes,  cardinals,  hermits, 
representatives  of  the  sciences  and  arts.  They  are  engaged  in  medita- 
tion, disputation,  adoration.  St.  Ambrose  is  there,  and  Augustine  and 
Jerome  and  Gregory  and  Thomas  and  Bonaventure.  Innocent  HI  and 
Dante  are  on  the  right,  and  on  the  left  we  see  a  Franciscan,  a  Domi- 
nican, and  a  hermit,  and  the  portrait  of  the  angelic  painter,  the  blessed 
Giovanni  da  Fiesole  (Fra  Angelico).  Poets  and  artists  are  there,  too, 
around  the  altar  whereon  rests  the  mystic  food. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  Raphael  had  advice  in  making  the  selection  he 
gives  us  here,  and  it  may  well  be  that  Julius  II  himself  went  so  far  as 
to  suggest  the  fundamental  idea.  But  the  master,  in  this  work,  which 
he  began  in  1508  and  finished  in  1511,  gives  proof  not  only  of  theo- 
logical insight  but  above  all  of  a  spontaneous  understanding  of  divine 
love.  No  other  artist  has  ever  so  well  expressed  the  closeness  of  the 
bond  that  links  the  visible  and  the  invisible  world,  the  heavens  and  the 
earth.  In  the  background  of  a  landscape  to  the  right  we  see  the  massive 
foundations  of  a  building  said  by  many  to  be  the  new  St.  Peter's,  Rome, 
and  on  the  left  a  lordly  edifice  round  which  men  are  busily  working. 


154 


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Detail  from  tlie  I'm-  in  llu'  Borgo 


1:155  3 


156  THE  VATICAN 

The  two  buildings  are  said  to  symbolize  tlie  decadence  of  Paganism 
and  the  building  up  of  Christian  Theology,  which  is  never  destined  to 
be  completed. 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  use  to  which  this  Hall  of  the  Signa- 
tura  was  put.  Nowadays  nearly  every  one  agrees  that  it  was  the  private 
library  and  workroom  of  the  Pope,  that  therein  he  signed  (sigimre)  his 
papers  and  documents.     We  find  the  name  first  mentioned  in  1513. 


The  Coronation  of  Charlemagne 

The  decoration  of  these  walls  and  roof  upholds  the  traditions  of  the 
Church  and  the  Papacy  and  marks  once  more  the  alliance  of  intellec- 
tual culture  and  sacred  knowledge,  the  blending  of  ancient  philosophy, 
poetry,  and  law  with  the  tenets  of  the  Faith.  The  work  came  to  an  end 
in  the  course  of  the  year  1511. 

The  wonder  caused  by  Raphael's  skill  in  bringing  to  a  close  the  deco- 
ration of  the  Hall  of  the  Signatura  determined  the  Pope  to  entrust  to 
him  also  the  decoration  of  the  hall  near  by,  which  was  later  called  the 
Hel'iodorus.  The  original  plans  for  this  hall  contained  scenes  taken 
from  the  Apocalypse  to  harmonize  with  Peruzzi's  pictures  on  the  roof, 


o 
U 


I  157  -2 


158  THE  VATICAN 

which  were  taken  from  the  Old  Testament;  and  there  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  Louvre  a  design  by  Raphael  showing  the  Breaking  of  the  Seal  on 
the  Book  of  Life. 

But  important  events  in  those  very  years  brought  new  glory  to  the 
Papacy  and  brought  about  a  change  in  the  plans,  so  that  it  was  resolved 
to  depict  on  the  walls  of  this  room  the  triumph  of  Julius  II.  On  the 
wall   opposite  the  window  Raphael   painted,  at  the  suggestion   of 


Aiicifiit  Mosaic  Discovered  near  tlie  Scala  Santa 
(Hall  of  Constantine) 

the  Pope,  the  Mass  at  Bolsena.  The  subject  is  the  famous  miracle 
that  took  place  at  Bolsena  in  1263  and  led  to  the  building  of  the  Duomo 
of  Orvieto.  A  German  priest  had  doubts  as  to  whether  the  sacred  Host 
at  the  moment  of  consecration  really  contained  the  blood  of  Christ.  As 
he  was  saying  Mass  one  day  in  the  Church  of  St.  Catherine  in  Bolsena 
while  making  a  pilgrimage  in  Italy,  blood  flowed  from  the  Host  in  his 
hands  and  stained  the  corporal  a  red  color.  To  commemorate  this 
miracle  the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi  was  instituted,  .lulius  11,  while  on 
an  expedition  one  day  to  Bologna,  stopped  over  at  Orvieto  and  vene- 
rated with  particular  devotion  the  blessed  corporal  preserved  in  the 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL  159 

Diiomo,  and  it  may  well  have  been  that  he  made  a  vow  that  in  case  of 
victory  over  his  enemies  he  would  glorify  the  miracle  by  a  fresco  in  the 
Vatican.  Raphael  caught  up  the  spirit  and  intuition  of  his  patron  most 
wonderfully,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  arch  he  painted  the  altar  with  the 
young  priest  before  it,  all  confused  and  astonished  at  the  sight  of  the 
miracle;  behind  him  are  assistants  and  congregation  adoring  the  won- 
der, and  on  one  side,  kneeling  at  a  velvet-covered  faldstool,  is  the 


it^^'^md 


The  Vision  of  Constantine 


Pope,  resembling  Julius  H,  in  no  way  surprised  by  the  miracle,  but 
looking  severely  at  the  priest  as  if  to  reprove  him  for  his  lack  of  faith. 
Two  cardinals  and  two  prelates,  together  with  the  officers  of  the  Papal 
Court,  make  up  the  Pope's  suite  and  are  all  characteristic  paintings  and 
speaking  likenesses. 

The  victory  over  the  schismatics  is  symbolically  depicted  on  the  wall 
to  the  left,  whereon  is  shown  the  Expulsion  of  Heliodorus.  As  we  learn 
from  the  Scriptures,  Heliodorus  was  the  treasurer  of  the  King  of  Syria, 
and  he  w^as  ordered  to  carry  off  the  treasures  of  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem.   As  he  was  in  the  act  of  carrying  out  this  order,  a  horseman  with 


160 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Battle  of  the  Milvian  Bridge 

stern  countenance  and  gorgeous  robes,  accompanied  by  two  young 
men,  appeared,  struck  him  down,  and  flogged  him.  In  the  background 
of  the  fresco,  under  the  columned  altar,  we  see  the  high  priest  in  prayer 
before  the  seven-branch  candlestick.  To  the  right  is  the  horseman 
with  his  assistants  in  golden  robes,  attacking  and  flogging  Heliodorus, 
whose  followers  take  to  flight.  To  the  left  there  is  a  group  of  women 
and  children  in  amazement  at  the  sight,  and  in  the  corner  of  the  fresco 
we  see  Julius  II,  borne  on  his  sedia  gestatoria,  towering  over  the  crowd 
and  affirming  through  the  miracle  the  sovereignty  of  the  Church. 
We  have  here  a  clear  allusion  to  the  triumph  of  the  Papacy  over  the 
rebel  cardinals  who  in  the  time  of  Julius  II  bethought  them  of  holding 
an  antipapal  council. 

Opposite  the  Heliodorus  fresco  is  the  meeting  of  Pope  Leo  the  Great 
and  Attila.  Julius  II  being  dead  by  the  time  this  fresco  was  painted,  the 
Pope  bears  the  likeness  of  Leo  X  and  is  seen  moving  tranquilly  on  to 
meet  the  fierce  king  of  the  Huns  surrounded  by  his  warriors;  in  the 
upper  portion  of  the  scene  the  princes  of  the  Apostles  appear  with 
swords  in  their  hands.  At  the  sight  Attila  spurs  his  horse  in  dismay  and 
the  Huns  are  terror-stricken.  The  flight  of  the  French  troops  from 
Italy  in  1512  is  here  paralleled.  In  the  background  Raphael  has  painted 
in,  as  though  the  meeting  with  Attila  had  taken  place  near  Rome,  vari- 
ous Roman  scenes,  including  the  Colosseum. 

On  the  wall  with  the  window  looking  on  the  Belvedere  he  has  painted 
the  Freeing  of  St.  Peter  from  Prison,  a  subject  well  in  harmony  with 
the  many  others  in  this  hall — that  is,  the  victory  of  the  Church  and  its 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


161 


head  over  every  human  plot.  The 
lighting  effects  in  this  fresco  are 
wonderful:  the  light  within  the 
prison  comes  from  the  Angel  who 
awakens  the  sleeping  Peter;  then 
the  light  outside  is  also  from  the 
Angel  as  he  accompanies  the  Apos- 
tle in  his  freedom:  but  there  is 
also  the  moonlight  on  the  stair- 
way to  the  left,  where  the  aston- 
ished soldiers  rouse  each  other 
and  find  their  prisoner  gone. 
Julius  H  was  Cardinal  of  the  title 
of  St.  Peter  in  Chains  and  went  on 
a  pilgrimage  to  this  church  in 
June,  1512,  to  give  thanks  for  the 
withdrawal  of  the  French:  hence 
we  may  conclude  that  although 
the  hall  was  not  completed  until 
1514,  under  Leo  X,  yet  it  was 
planned  and  begun  under  Julius  II. 

If  we  compare  the  pictures  in 
the  Signatura  Hall  and  those  in 
the  Heliodorus  Hall,  we  cannot 
help  noting  that  Raphael  had  been 
altering  the  tonality  of  his  color- 
ing and  putting  more  effective 
movement  in  his  compositions. 
There  is  more  vivacity  in  these 
later  frescoes,  and  instead  of  the 
classic  purity  and  coldness  of  the 

pictures  in  the  Signatura  we  find  here  more  of  the  w^armth  of  life.  The 
coloring  alone  may  have  a  lot  to  do  w^ith  this  effect,  and  his  coloring 
owes  much  to  the  Venetian  Sebastiano  del  Piombo,  who  came  to  Rome 
in  1511  and  affected  the  schools  of  Michelangelo  and  Raphael  with 
some  of  the  glow  he  had  learned  from  Giorgione.  This  is  true  in  a 
special  manner  of  the  Bolsena  Miracle,  the  Heliodorus,  and  the  Freeing 
of  St.  Peter.  The  fresco  of  the  meeting  of  Pope  Leo  and  Attila  is  widely 
different  from  these.  It  is  w^eaker  in  coloring  and  in  design,  and  it  is 
not  difficult  to  recognize  that  it  is  largely  the  work  of  the  master's 
pupils. 

Raphael  was  now^  overweighted  with  work.     He  was  engaged  not 


Detail   from  a  Door  in  the  Stanze 
(Giovanni  Barili) 


162  THE  VATICAN 

only  in  painting  the  Stanze,  but  he  was  charged  with  drawing  the  de- 
signs for  the  tapestries  for  the  Sistine  and  he  had  commissions  for 
sacred  pictures  and  portraits,  so  that  he  was  constrained  to  hand  over 
much  of  his  work  to  his  pupils,  particularly  to  Giovanni  Francesco 
Penni,  styled  II  Fattore,  and  Giulio  Lippi,  known  as  Giulio  Romano. 
In  the  summer  of  1514  Raphael  and  his  disciples  brought  the  paint- 
ing of  the  Heliodorus  Hall  to  a  close,  and  he  was  already  commissioned 
to  paint  a  third  room.  We  have  a  letter  from  him  in  which  he  tells  his 
uncle  Simone  Gloria  about  it,  and  from  other  documents  we  learn  that 
the  painting  of  this  third  room  was  completed  in  June,  1517.  In  the 
third  room,  which  we  named  above  as  that  of  the  Fire  in  the  Borgo, 
the  pupils  were  given  even  a  freer  hand.  We  might  ahnost  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that  Raphael  himself  did  not  paint  any  part  of  that 
room,  and  had  very  little  to  say  in  the  matter  of  the  drawings  for  it. 
Perugino's  fresco  showing  Christ  glorified  was  left  on  the  roof,  and 
the  pupils  decorated  the  walls,  out  of  deference  to  Leo  X,  with  scenes 
from  the  life  of  Leo  III  and  Leo  IV,  who  had  been  canonized,  taking 
such  events  as  had  some  connection  with  their  own  day.  In  all  these 
paintings  the  Medici  Pope  plays  the  parts  of  Leo  III  and  Leo  IV. 

The  one  painting  wherein,  if  not  the  hand,  at  least  the  mind  of  Ra- 
phael is  to  be  discerned  is  that  of  the  Fire  in  the  Borgo,  which  records 
one  of  the  miracles  of  Leo  IV,  who  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  extin- 
guished a  devastating  fire  that  had  taken  hold  of  that  quarter  of  the 
city.  The  story  is  told  in  episodes  rather  than  in  unit  form.  There  is  no 
real  connection  between  the  incidents,  no  unity  of  ensemble.  The 
background  shows  the  Pope  in  the  act  of  blessing  from  a  balcony  be- 
hind which  appears  the  facade  of  old  St.  Peter's;  in  the  foreground  on 
either  side  are  buildings  where  the  flames  are  raging.  To  the  right  men 
are  engaged  fighting  the  flames  and  women  are  carrying  water  to  them : 
among  the  women  there  is  one  with  her  back  to  us,  who  is  much 
admired.  In  the  building  to  the  left,  where  the  llames  arc  fiercest,  a 
woman  is  throwing  her  child  from  above  to  the  father  below;  one 
sturdy  youth  is  saving  himself  by  flight,  and  another  is  carrying  off  his 
aged  father  on  his  back,  as  ^Eneas  carried  Anchises  from  the  fire  of 
Troy.  In  the  centre  women  and  children  in  despair  appeal  for  help  to 
the  Pope.  The  execution  of  the  foreground  of  this  work  mainly  belongs 
to  Giulio  Romano,  and  Francesco  Penni  is  responsible  for  the  back- 
ground. Raphael  designed  the  finer  groups,  which  his  pupils  after- 
wards transferred  to  fresco  without  paying  overmuch  attention  to  the 
harmony  of  due  proportions. 

In  the  second  fresco,  depicting  the  Naval  Fight  at  Ostia  won  by  Leo 
IV  over  the  Saracens,  the  Pope  is  again  Leo  X  seated  on  a  throne  and 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL 


163 


'Mmmm&m 


/■"•.y3'.cr.!/"c7.1r' 


The  Chlaroscuri  Hall  with  frescoes  by  Giovanni 
da  Udine  and  P.  Maratta 


surrounded  by  cardinals.  He 
raises  his  eyes  to  lieaven,  while  in 
the  foreground  the  Saracen  pris- 
oners are  being  hurled  to  the 
ground  and  in  the  background  the 
fight  rages.  In  this  picture  Ra- 
phael's sense  of  order  is  entirely 
lacking,  and  we  are  undoubtedly 
face  to  face  with  a  painting  of  his 
school,  very  probably  by  Giulio 
Romano.  The  master  himself  did 
no  more  than  give  studies  for 
some  of  the  principal  figures  in  it. 

Of  the  two  other  frescoes  in  the 
room,  one  depicts  the  Justification 
of  Leo  IV,  or  the  oath  by  which 
on  December  23,  in  the  year  800, 
that  Pope  in  the  Vatican  Basilica 
absolved  himself  from  false 
charges  that  had  been  brought 
against  him.  This  work  is  entirely 

from  the  hands  of  Raphael's  pupils,  perhaps  mainly  by  Penni,  who  fol- 
lowed out  the  scheme  laid  down  in  the  Bolsena  Miracle;  the  other  paint- 
ing represents  the  crowning  of  Charlemagne  by  Leo  III,  a  splendid 
scene  in  which  Penni  displays  such  genius  in  depicting  the  glories  of 
Court  ceremonial,  with  all  its  magnificent  trappings,  that  for  the  mo- 
ment we  forget  the  defects  of  the  composition  before  us.  Charlemagne 
is  shown  with  the  features  of  Francis  I.  The  root  idea  of  the  decora- 
tions in  this  third  room  has  reference  to  the  paintings  in  the  Heliodorus 
room.  The  power  and  greatness  of  the  Papacy  are  glorified  especially 
in  the  war  against  the  infidels.  The  Battle  at  Ostia  is  an  allusion  to  the 
Medicean  Pope's  idea  of  calling  a  new  crusade;  the  Coronation  of 
Charlemagne  reminds  the  imperial  power  that  it  must  bow  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Church;  the  Fire  in  the  Borgo  is  not  so  easy  to  explain  in 
symbols,  but  it  must  have  some  reference  to  the  rebuilding  of  St. 
Peter's;  and  the  Oath  of  Pope  Leo  HI  is  connected  with  the  end  of  the 
Schism  and  the  Lateran  Council,  pointing  out  that  the  Supreme  Head 
of  the  Church  can  be  judged  by  God  alone. 

Having  thus  completed  the  frescoes  in  the  Hall  of  the  Borgo  Fire, 
there  remained  to  be  decorated  the  large  room  near  the  Heliodorus 
Hall  and  leading  on  to  the  Loggie.  Here,  instead  of  continuing  scenes 
alluding  to  his  own  pontificate,  Leo  X  gave  orders  that  the  main  events 


164 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Chiaroscuri  Hall 
(Leading  from  the  Stanze  to  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V) 

in  the  history  of  tlie  Church  should  be  depicted:  e.g.,  the  life  of  tlie  Em- 
peror Constantine,  under  whom  Christianity  was  officially  recognized, 
and  whose  legendary  donation  or  gift  was  associated  wath  the  begin- 
nings of  the  Papal  States. 

Now,  it  came  to  pass  that  the  paintings  in  this  room  were  begun  after 
the  death  of  the  master,  and  the  pupils,  in  order  to  prevent  the  work 
being  entrusted  to  Michelangelo,  pretended  that  they  had  all  Raphael's 
drawings  for  it.  It  is  certain  in  any  case  that,  while  in  all  the  other 
frescoes,  as  for  instance  the  Vision  of  the  Cross,  the  Baptism  of  Con- 
stantine, the  Donation  and  the  figures  of  the  Eight  Popes,  there  is  no 
trace  of  Raphael,  w^e  do  find  in  the  scene  showing  the  Battle  of  the  Mil- 
vian  Bridge  a  hint  of  the  master's  style.  The  work  is  hastily  done  in 
many  places,  the  gray  and  cold  coloring  shows  the  hand  of  Giulio  Ro- 
mano, but  its  breadth  of  movement  and  its  sweep  and  dash,  which 
make  it  one  of  the  finest  battle  scenes  in  the  world,  all  speak  of  Raphael. 
Details  of  beauty  that  miss  the  eye  at  first  sight  reveal  to  us  the  master's 
aim  to  produce  something  truly  great,  but  on  seeing  what  Giulio  Ro- 
mano has  done  with  it  in  paint,  and  how  it  differs  from  the  master's 
plan,  we  only  understand  the  better  what  a  painter  Raphael  was,  and 
how  much  above  his  pupils  he  towered,  so  that  their  greatest  efforts  fall 
far  short  of  his  stature.    Not  in  the  following  of  the  canons  of  his  art. 


THE  STANZE  OF  RAPHAEL  165 

not  because  of  any  secrets  of  technic,  not  by  tricks  of  the  trade,  but 
through  genius  only  Raphael's  art  touches  the  topmost  peaks. 

In  this  same  room  the  two  allegorical  figures  of  Justice  and  Clem- 
ency are  from  studies  by  the  master,  the  one  being  executed  by  Penni, 
the  other  by  Romano.  Romano's  also  is  the  fresco  showing  the  Vision 
of  the  Cross,  but  the  Baptism  is  by  Penni,  and  the  Donation  is  the  work 
of  Raffaellino  del  Colle.  The  roof  of  this  room  was  painted  a  long  time 
afterwards  by  the  Zuccari  brothers.  The  Exaltation  of  F'aith,  in  the 
centre,  is  by  Tommaso  Lauretl  of  Palermo. 

The  Hall  of  Constantine  ends  the  cycle  of  frescoes  in  the  Stanze,  the 
masterpieces  of  Raphael  and  his  school.  In  his  sacred  paintings  and 
his  gentle  Madonnas,  the  artist  poured  out  all  the  sweetness  of  his  soul. 
There  is  insight  in  his  portraits,  and  power  of  thinking,  too,  but  in  the 
frescoes  in  these  halls  is  the  whole  man,  the  artist  who  is  equally  at 
home  with  the  charms  of  Poetry,  the  stern  visage  of  Philosophy,  the 
recesses  of  the  mysteries  of  Faith,  and  the  awe-striking  tones  of  the 
voice  of  Divine  Judgment.  A  poem  of  beauty  and  thought  passes  here 
before  our  eyes.  Whatever  humanity  has  thought  or  imagined  that  is 
great  and  sublime  speaks  to  us  from  these  frescoes  in  a  voice  that  has 
all  the  mystery-awaking  melody  of  art. 

The  lyric  note  dominates  the  Hall  of  the  Signatura;  the  dramatic 
chord  vibrates  around  the  scene  of  Heliodorus;  an  epic  voice  is  heard 
through  the  flames  of  the  Borgo.  Raphael  has  touched  every  chord  on 
the  lyre  of  the  Muse  of  painting.  The  Bible,  Classical  antiquity  and 
the  Middle  Ages,  humanism,  philosophy,  theology,  the  liberal  arts, 
law,  peace  and  war,  temporal  and  divine  power  have  found  in 
him  a  singer  who  has  clothed  them  in  beauty;  and  as  to-day  the  dead 
religions  of  Pagandom  live  again  for  us  in  our  wonder  at  the  images 
of  their  gods,  so  too,  even  where  Faith  is  dead,  Raphael's  art  speaks 
and  will  ever  speak  to  humanity  in  the  eternal  language  of  the 
beautiful. 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL 


fpTER  the  frescoed  rooms  and  the  tapestries  comes  in 
the  order  of  chronology  another  important  work  by 
Raphael,  namely,  the  decorations  ordered  by  Pope 
Leo  X  for  the  galleries  opening  on  the  Cortile  di  S. 
Damaso. 

The  bnilding  of  these  galleries  was  begun  by  Bra- 
.li.- '11  mante  in  15L3,  and  after  his  death  was  completed  by 
"  ^1  Raphael  in  151  (S  or  thereabouts. 
Tlity  comprise  three  tiers,  of  which  the  centre  one  is  the  most  fa- 
mous because  it  contains  the  Bible  pictures  designed  by  the  master. 
We  are  not  ([uitc  certain  as  to  when  these  decorations  on  the  walls  and 
pilasters  and  vaulting  were  begun,  but  we  may  safely  say  that  the  work 
was  advanced  in  the  summer  of  1519  since  we  find  in  a  ledger  in  the 
Vatican  Archives  an  entry,  on  June  11,  of  twenty -five  ducats  paid  to 
Raphael's  assistants  for  work  done  in  the  galleries,  and  on  June  16 
Baldassarre  Castiglione  wrote  to  the  Marchesa  Isabella  d'Este  as  fol- 
lows: "The  Pope  is  more  than  ever  taken  up  with  music,  and  in  one 
way  or  another  delights  in  architecture.  He  is  always  planning  some 
new  work  in  the  palace  here,  and  his  latest  fancy  is  a  painted  gallery 
adorned  with  stucco  work  of  an  antique  character.  The  whole  is  the 
work  of  Raphael  and  is  really  fair  to  see  and  perhaps  surpasses  any- 
thing done  by  the  modern  school."  Moreover,  the  Venetian  Marc 
Antonio  Michiel  tells  us  that  in  May,  1519,  Raphael  had  decorated  one 
very  long  gallery  and  was  about  to  paint  two  others. 

The  first  tier  of  the  galleries  is  adorned  with  leaf  designs  and  ara- 
besques, which  unfortunately  have  been  largely  restored.  They  follow 
a  plan  similar  to  that  which  we  shall  describe  later  in  the  upper  tier, 
but  are  characterized  by  greater  simplicity  and  more  hasty  execution. 
In  the  second  tier  or  story  the  decorations  are  spread  over  thirteen 
arcades,  and  here  it  may  truly  be  said  that  Raphael  has  poured  out 
liberally  the  treasures  of  his  artistic  genius:  paintings  and  sculpture  go 
hand  in  hand,  and  the  beauty  of  the  imitation  antique  stuccos  and  the 
friezes  depicting  pagan  scenes  on  the  pilasters  blend  wonderfully  with 
the  scenes  from  the  Bible  represented  on  the  domed  roof.  The  whole 
makes  up  a  noble  tribute  to  the  art  and  spirit  of  the  Renaissance.    The 

C167  3 


168  THE  VATICAN 

sacred  scenes  on  the  roof  are  fit- 
ting in  the  palace  of  the  ruler  of 
Christendom,  and  the  pagan  touch 
along  the  walls  carries  to  us  a 
memory  of  Leo's  mighty  love  for 
classic  antiquity.  The  decoration 
of  the  roof  is  divided  into  thirteen 
compartments,  each  of  which  con- 
tains four  scenes  set  in  an  appro- 
priate frame  of  color,  and  in  the 
centre  of  the  seventh  is  the  Pope's 
coat  of  arms.  Of  these  fifty-two 
frescoes,  forty-eight  are  scenes 
from  the  Old  and  four  from  the 
New  Testament.  The  set  is  known 
as  Raphael's  Bible. 

The  great  artist  was  face  to  face 
with  a  difficult  task.  It  is  a  far  cry 
in  art  from  the  faltering  steps 
of  Christian  painting  in  the  dim 
light  of  the  Catacombs  to  the  Log- 
gie  of  Raphael.  The  master  was 
confronted  with  a  theme  that  had 
been  attempted  time  and  again  by 
artists  in  every  age,  and  he  had  to 
find  a  new  expression  for  it;  he 
had  to  recreate  it,  so  to  speak,  in 
the  language  of  the  Renaissance. 

The  painters  in  the  Catacombs  of  Rome  in  the  early  days  of  Chris- 
tianity employed  subjects  taken  from  the  Bible  and  the  Gospels,  but 
their  choice  was  limited  to  the  smallest  possible  number  of  symbolic 
elements.  The  symbol  and  the  dogma  it  taught  were  for  them  the  great 
thing.  Hence  they  paid  no  great  attention  to  biblical  accuracy.  The 
mosaics  in  the  central  nave  of  S.  Maria  Maggiore  in  Rome,  dating  back 
to  the  fifth  century,  and  the  miniatures  on  the  purple  parchment  Codex 
of  Genesis  in  the  Imperial  Library  in  Vienna,  dating  from  the  sixth 
century,  as  well  as  the  faintly  colored  designs  of  the  parchment  roll  of 
the  Book  of  Joshua  in  the  Vatican  Library,  a  tenth  century  copy  of  a 
fourth  century  original,  all  have  Bible  subjects  of  a  more  or  less  com- 
plex character  but  along  fixed  lines  and  all  inculcating  lessons  of 
religious  belief.  Art  therein  is  the  thrall  of  faith.  The  picture  cycles 
in  Monreale,  in  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  in  the  upper  church  at  Assisi,  the 


Door  leading  to  tlio  Lopgie 
(Sixteenth  Century) 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL 


169 


One  ()f  the  l^oggii-  of  Haiiliacl 


170 


THE  VATICAN 


The  First  Toil  of  Man 

Quattrocento  work  of  Paolo  Uccello  in  the  Green  Cloister  of  S.  Maria 
Novella,  and  the  works  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli  in  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa 
are,  on  the  other  hand,  more  or  less  genre  pictures,  episodes  depicted 
with  sincerity  and  truth  and  with  particular  emphasis  on  certain  fig- 
ures and  details  of  special  importance. 

On  the  roof  of  the  Sistine,  eight  or  ten  years  l)efore,  Michelangelo 
had  painted  the  scenes  of  the  Creation,  but  his  imposing,  dominating 
figures  and  the  tragic  strength  of  his  compositions  could  be  of  no  ser- 
vice to  Raphael,  so  totally  different  were  the  place  and  the  space  al- 
lotted to  him  for  decoration.  So  that  we  may  say  Raphael  took  up  the 
w^ell-known  theme  afresh  and  gave  it  a  new  utterance.  No  longer  are 
we  face  to  face  with  the  fearsome  visions  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  the 
titanic  struggles  of  the  giants  in  the  Sistine,  but  we  look  on  at  a  graceful 
idyl  told  by  Raphael  in  these  galleries,  where  he  has  known  how  to 
clothe  the  sacred  stories  with  all  the  charm  and  grace  of  the  fables  of 
antiquity. 

It  was  long  a  matter  of  dispute — and,  for  that  matter,  it  is  so  still 
— among  critics  how  much  of  these  galleries  is  actually  the  work  of  the 
master  himself. 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL  171 

Vasari,  in  speaking  of  the  Loggie,  says: 

"Moreover,  Raphael  designed  the  papal  stairways  and  the  galleries 
begun  by  the  architect  Rramante,  but  left  unfinished  at  his  death.  These 
galleries  were  designed  anew  by  Raphael,  who  made  a  wooden  model 
of  them,  and  were  not  only  better  planned  but  gave  more  scope  for 
decoration  than  did  Rramante's  plan.  Seeing  that  it  was  Pope  Leo's 
wish  to  leave  a  record  of  his  greatness,  magnificence,  and  generosity, 
Raphael  not  only  designed  the  stucco  ornaments  and  the  scenes  to  be 
used  in  the  decoration,  but  he  placed  Giovanni  da  Udine  in  charge  of 


Lot  and  His  Family  Leaving  Sodom 

the  stucco  work  and  the  arabesques,  and  Giulio  Romano  in  charge  of 
the  paintings,  though  Giulio  did  little  of  the  work  himself.  Giovan 
Francesco  Penni,  il  Rologna,*  Perino  del  Vaga,  Pellegrino  da  Modena, 
Vincenzo  da  San  Gimignano,  Polidoro  da  Caravaggio,  and  many  other 
painters  worked  there  on  the  scenes  and  figures  and  details  of  that 
work,  which  Raphael  was  so  intent  on  making  a  masterpiece  that  he 
brought  even  a  Luca  della  Robbia  pavement  from  Florence  for  it. 
Thus  it  is  that  we  may  safely  say  that  for  paintings,  stucco  work,  skill 
and  inventive  genius  it  is  impossible  to  better  it  or  to  imagine  anything 
more  perfect." 

Hence  we  see  that  Vasari  attributes  the  whole  plan  and  its  designs  to 

iBartolomeo  Ramenghi,  called  also  Bagnacavallo. 


172  THE  VATICAN 

the  master  and  the  work  itself  to  his  pupils.  Some  recent  critics  have 
attempted  to  exclude  Raphael  from  all  part  in  it  save  one  of  general 
supervision,  but  there  is  no  foundation  for  such  a  theory.  No  doubt 
there  is  no  trace  of  Raphael's  brush  anywhere  in  these  galleries,  but  his 
spirit  animates  the  whole  place,  and  nowhere  is  it  more  in  evidence 
than  in  the  arcades,  of  which  the  paintings  in  the  first  eight  are  truly 
the  children  of  the  master's  brain.  His  guiding  hand  is  also  seen  in  the 
two  that  follow.  As  for  the  remaining  three  arcades,  we  are  perhaps 
justified  in  attributing  them  in  their  entirety  to  Raphael's  pupils. 


As  far  as  the 
concerned,  ow- 
wretched  resto- 
been  made  from 
is  not  easy  to 
accurate  judg- 
it  is  generally 
painting  of  the 
cades  was  the 
cesco  Penni, 
save  for  the 
and  the  pictures 
which  are  said 
of  Giovanni  da 
other  pupils 

them  the  work 
ing  arcades,  and 
rino    del     Vaga 

All  thirteen 
impression  that 
which 


actual 


ing 


work  is 
to  the 
rations  that  have 
time  to  time,  it 
form  any  very 
ment  to-day,  but 
believed  that  the 
first  nine  ar- 
work  of  Fran- 
called  II  Fattore, 
landscape  scenes 
of  animals, 

to  be  the  work 
Udine.  The 

shared  among 
on  the  remain- 
the  name  of  Pe- 
heads  the  list, 
arcades  leave  the 
the  wondrous 
ought    to    have 

guided  the  painters  were  weighed  down  with  colors  too  warm  and 
brick-colored  flesh  tints,  and  with  landscapes  whose  lines  are  not  suffi- 
ciently toned  down,  so  that  at  times  we  might  almost  say  the  whole 
presents  the  effect  of  a  Cinquecento  work  interpreted  by  men  living 
under  the  spell  of  the  barocco  period  in  art. 

Students  and  critics  have  striven  to  find  out  the  sources  from  which 
Raphael  drew  his  plan  for  these  compositions.  The  Creation  scenes 
and  those  relating  to  Noah  recall  Michelangelo's  work  in  the  Sistine, 
but  only  for  their  iconographic  merit,  not  by  any  means  in  their  vigor 
and  severity.  Not  a  few  find  traces  of  Masaccio,  and  there  is  a  hint  of 
Diirer  in  the  scene  where  Jacob  meets  Rachel  at  the  well,  while  there 
is  also  a  strong  memory  of  classical  sculpture. 


designs 


One  of  the  Loggie 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL 


173 


But  these  petty  thefts,  to  which  every  artist  has  recourse,  do  not  take 
away  from  the  importance  of  this  work;  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  we  are  about  to  run  through  one  of  the  most  beautiful  crea- 
tions of  the  Renaissance — a  simple  moving  poem  full  of  beauty  and 
serenity.  The  landscape  scenes  by  Giovanni  da  Udine,  so  filled  with 
atmosphere  and  light,  add  to  the  idyllic  charm  of  the  whole  cycle.  We 
might  almost  say  that  the  work  breathes  the  spirit  of  Virgil  from  begin- 
ning to  end.  After  the  ninth  arcade  the  character  of  the  work  changes; 
the  dramatic  elements  dominate  and  the  coloring  becomes  brighter. 


Isaac  ami  Rebecca 

When  we  reach  the  thirteenth  the  work  is  somewhat  feeble,  and  we 
recognize  that  the  pupils  are  working  without  the  aid  of  the  master 
hand.  This  is  where  the  scenes  from  the  New  Testament  begin,  which, 
owing  to  the  death  of  Leo  X,  were  never  completed.  The  decorations 
framing  the  frescoes  (painted  tapestries,  pilasters,  grotesques,  mosaics 
and  flying  angels)  remain  the  same  for  each  two  arcades. 

First  Arcade:  (1)  God  Separates  the  Light  from  the  Darkness.  With  a 
motion  of  his  whole  being,  \vhich  is  here  enlarged  and  exaggerated  after 
the  style  of  the  Michelangelo  figures,  God  brings  about  the  separation. 
The  dark  red  of  the  flesh  tints  used  bears  out  what  Vasari  says,  that  this 
cupola  is  the  work  of  Giulio  Romano.  (2)  God  Divides  the  Land  from 
the  Waters.    Beneath  the  figure  of  God,  suspended  in  the  bright  heav- 


i:i74: 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL 


175 


I'Milion  of  a  Loggia 


ens,  the  terrestrial  globe  takes  its 
rounded  shape,  on  which  the 
waters  are  distinct  from  the  land, 
whereon  a  clump  of  trees  has 
begun  to  appear.  (3)  Creation  of 
the  Sun  and  the  Moon.  This  de- 
sign is  also  a  reminiscence  of 
Michelangelo.  The  figure  of  God 
is  as  in  the  former  design,  but  his 
back  is  turned  to  the  spectator  and 
he  is  stretching  forth  his  arms  to- 
wards the  globes  of  the  sun  and 
moon.  The  world  is  rolling 
through  space  below.  (4)  The 
Creation  of  the  Animals.  Moving 
through  the  earth,  God  causes  all 
the  animals,  some  of  them  of  fan- 
tastic shapes,  to  appear  upon  it. 
The  figure  of  God  is  no  longer  in 
the  strong  Michelangelo  style,  and 
we  here  discern  unmistakable  traces  of  the  hand  of  Giulio  Romano. 

Second  Arcade:  (5)  The  Creation  of  Eve.  In  a  fertile  landscape,  God, 
who  has  put  foot  on  earth,  is  showing  Adam  his  helpmeet.  We  have 
here  a  new  method  of  treating  the  subject  in  art.  The  folds  in  the 
drapery  of  the  Eternal  Father's  cloak  are  wonderful.  Vasari  says  that 
Giulio  Romano  worked  in  this  arcade,  but  it  is  by  no  means  certain. 
(6)  Original  Sin.  In  the  centre  stands  the  tree,  around  which  is  coiled 
a  serpent  with  a  human  head.  Eve,  erect  to  the  left,  is  in  the  act  of 
offering  a  fruit  to  Adam,  who  is  seated  on  the  other  side.  The  back- 
ground is  a  wondrous  piece  of  landscape  painting.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  Raphael  himself  painted  this  figure  of  Eve,  but  the  coloring  is  too 
severe  for  such  a  tradition  to  be  accepted  without  reserve.  (7)  The 
Expulsion  from  Paradise.  An  angel  with  a  flaming  sword  stands  at  the 
gate  of  Paradise  driving  away  the  two  sinners.  The  shame-stricken 
woman  seeks  as  best  she  can  to  cover  her  nakedness  with  her  hands, 
and  Adam  strives  to  hide  his  face.  These  two  tigures  are  copied  from 
the  fresco  by  Masaccio  in  the  Carmine  Church  at  Florence.  (8)  The 
First  Toil  of  Man.  Adam  is  seen  sowing  in  a  field,  and  Eve  appears  spin- 
ning, while  Cain  and  Abel  play  around  her. 

Third  Arcade:  (9)  The  Building  of  the  Ark.  Noah,  an  old  man,  is 
showing  his  sons  how  they  must  set  about  preparing  the  timber  for  the 
ark,  the  hull  of  which  is  seen  in  the  distance.    The  work  bears  traces  of 


THE  VATICAN 


Moses  Saved  from  the  Nile 

Francesco  Penni's  style.  (10)  The  Universal  Deluge.  In  the  back- 
ground the  ark  is  seen  on  the  waters,  and  in  the  foreground  a  rider  is 
drowning.  One  man  looks  in  terror  on  a  woman  who  dies  in  his  arms, 
and  another,  holding  up  a  child,  is  trying  to  rescue  a  woman  from 
drowning  by  grasping  her  hair.  ( 11 )  The  Coming  Forth  from  the  Ark. 
While  the  animals  are  leaving  the  ark,  Noah  and  his  family  are  seen 
lamenting  the  ruin  of  the  flood.  (12)  Noah's  Sacrifice.  In  the  centre 
Noah  is  praying  before  an  altar,  while  one  of  his  sons  slaughters  a  lamb 
and  another  son  holds  a  second  victim  ready.  In  the  rear  two  young 
men  are  seen  leading  two  bulls,  and  a  camel  appears  in  the  background. 
Here  again,  if  we  are  to  believe  Vasari,  we  have  the  work  of  Giulio 
Romano,  but  it  is  not  quite  certain. 

Fourth  Arcade:  (18)  Abram  and  Melchisedeck.  Melchisedeck,  King 
of  Jerusalem,  brings  forth  to  Abram  two  baskets  of  bread  and  four  jars 
of  wine.  He  is  surrounded  by  warriors  and  shepherds.  (14)  God's 
Promise  to  Abram.  The  patriarch  is  on  his  knees  in  the  foreground,  his 
back  to  the  onlooker,  and  God  appears  to  him  on  high,  promising  him 
a  numerous  offspring.     (15)  The  Visit  of  the  Three  Angels  to  Abram. 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL 


177 


Candelabra  in  the   Logpia  decorated  by 
Mantovani 


Detail  from  the  Ornaments  in 
Pilasters 


the 


Decorations  showing  the  Arms  of  (ircgury  XIII 
over  a  Door  in  the  Loggie 


r,:uulilaliia 
(Mascherini,  Sermoneta  and  Nogari) 


178  THE  VATICAN 

In  the  front  of  his  house  Abram  is  on  his  knees  before  the  three  young 
men,  who  are  speaking  to  him.  Sara  is  looking  on  from  the  door.  The 
background  is  a  charming  landscape.  The  fresco  is  thought  to  be  the 
work  of  Penni.  (16)  Lot  and  his  Family  Leave  Sodom.  In  the  back- 
ground is  to  be  seen  a  burning  city,  and  in  the  near  distance  Lot  comes 


Moses  Presenting  the  Law  to  the  People 

forward,  leading  his  children  by  the  hand.  The  wife,  who  looked  back 
at  Sodom,  has  been  turned  into  a  statue  of  salt.  This  work  also  is  said 
to  have  been  executed  by  Francesco  Penni. 

Fifth  Arcade:  (17)  God  Appears  to  Isaac.  In  a  fair  landscape  Isaac 
is  seen  on  his  knees,  and  God  appears  to  him  in  the  clouds.  Rebecca  is 
seated  to  the  left.  (18)  Isaac  Embraces  Rebecca.  In  the  atrium  of  a 
palace,  whose  background  is  a  balcony  looking  on  the  open  country, 
Isaac  and  Rebecca  are  seated  in  embrace.  King  Abimelech  watches  them 
from  a  window.  The  work  is  Penni's.  (19)  Isaac  Blessing  Jacob.  The 
aged  patriarch,  on  his  couch,  raises  his  hand  to  bless  Jacob,  who  is 
kneeling  at  the  foot.  Rebecca  is  seen  encouraging  her  son.  The  back- 
ground shows  Esau  hunting  in  a  wild  country.  This  is  certainly  the 
work  of  Francesco  Penni.  (20)  Esau  Asking  Isaac  to  Bless  Him.  At  his 
father's  bedside  Esau  is  asking  a  blessing,  while  the  patriarch  shows  his 
surprise.  Rebecca  and  Jacob  are  seen  looking  in  at  the  door.  The 
work  is  in  the  style  of  Penni. 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL  179 

Sixth  Arcade:  (21)  Jacob's  Ladder.  Jacob  lies  asleep  in  the  fore- 
ground and  in  ecstasy  turns  his  head  towards  the  centre,  where  six 
angels  are  seen  ascending  and  descending  a  ladder  the  top  of  which  is 
lost  in  a  glory  surrounding  the  figure  of  God  the  Father.  (22)  Jacob 
and  Rachel  at  the  Well.  Rachel  and  a  bond-servant  who  holds  her  by 
the  hand  are  standing  before  a  well  while  the  flocks  quench  their  thirst. 
Rachel  is  speaking  to  Jacob,  who  has  a  pilgrim's  staff  on  his  shoulder. 


David  and  IJalli:diLlja 


The  poetry  of  the  whole  scene  is  enhanced  by  a  charming  landscape. 
(23)  Jacob  Seeking  Rachel's  Hand.  Jacob  goes  to  see  Laban,  who  has 
his  daughter  Leah  with  him.  Near  Jacob  stands  Rachel,  tending  the 
flock.  The  fresco  is  badly  injured.  (24)  Jacob's  Flight.  Jacob,  seated 
on  an  ass  and  accompanied  by  his  women  and  children  on  camels,  is 
returning  to  his  own  country.  The  flocks  and  shepherds  are  seen  on 
the  road  ahead. 

.Seventh  Arcade:  (25)  Joseph  Telling  of  his  Dream.  Joseph,  repre- 
sented as  a  young  boy,  is  standing  while  he  tells  his  brethren  of  his 
dream.    They  are  reclining  on  a  sloping  ground.    The  flock  is  to  one 


180 


THE  VATICAN 


side.  In  two  luminous  circles  in 
the  sk}^  are  depicted  the  events  of 
the  dream.  The  work  is  attributed 
to  Giulio  Romano.  (26)  Joseph 
Sold  by  his  Brethren.  The  open 
well  is  in  the  foreground.  Joseph 
has  just  been  handed  over  to  four 
merchants  who  are  counting  out 
the  agreed  price  to  one  of  the 
brethren.  (27)  Joseph  and  Poti- 
phar's  Wife.  The  woman  is  seated 
on  a  couch  and  tries  to  draw 
Joseph  to  her.  He  is  in  flight  and 
leaves  his  cloak  in  her  hands.  The 
room  is  adorned  wath  rich  tapestry 
designs,  and  the  work  is  perhaps 
very  properly  attributed  to  Giulio 
Romano.  (28)  Joseph  Interpreting 
Pharaoh's  Dreams.  On  a  portico 
with  a  landscape  background  the 
king  is  seen  puzzled,  and  Joseph  is 
explaining  to  him  the  meaning  of 
his  dreams,  the  events  of  which 
are  represented  in  two  circles  of 
light  on  the  upper  portion  of  the 
picture. 

Eighth  Arcade:  (29)  Moses 
Saved  from  the  Water.  With  the 
Nile  as  a  background,  Pharaoh's  daughter  and  six  beautiful  maidens 
are  looking  at  a  male  child  that  one  of  the  women  is  taking  from  the 
basket.  The  landscape,  with  the  river  losing  itself  in  the  distance,  is 
very  fine.  Vasari  says  the  work  is  Giulio  Romano's,  but  it  is  uncertain. 
(30)  The  Burning  Bush.  Moses,  with  his  face  hidden  in  his  hands,  is 
kneeling  before  a  bush  within  which  God  appears.  This  work  is  by  the 
sameartist  as  the  preceding  one.  (31)  The  Crossing  of  the  Red  Sea.  The 
host  of  Israel,  with  their  baggage,  are  moving  off  to  the  right.  Moses 
stretches  his  rod  over  the  sea,  in  which  Pharaoh  and  his  army  are 
drowning.  (32)  Moses  Striking  the  Rock.  Moses  hits  the  rock,  from 
which  water  gushes  forth,  while  the  Hebrews  look  on  in  amazement. 
The  figure  of  God  is  seen  among  the  clouds. 

Ninth  Arcade:  (33)  Moses  Receiving  the  Tables  of  the  Law.  God  the 
Father,  in  the  clouds  and  surrounded  by  a  glory  of  angels,  is  seen  on 


Door  showing  the  Arms  of  Clement  VII 
(Sixteenth  Century) 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL  181 

the  summit  of  Sinai  handing  over  to  Moses  the  sacred  tables.  Moses  is 
kneeling.  In  the  plain  below  the  tents  of  the  Israelites  are  shown. 
(34)  The  Adoration  of  the  Golden  Calf.  The  Hebrew  people,  on  their 
knees,  are  worshipping  a  calf  of  gold  set  upon  an  altar,  while  dances 
are  going  on  to  the  right.  On  the  left  Moses  is  seen  coming  down  from 
the  mountains,  and  as  his  eyes  meet  the  spectacle  he  drops  the  tables 
and  breaks  them.    (35)  The  Pillar  of  Cloud.    The  pillar  of  cloud  rises 


Solomon  aiui  tlie  Queen  of  Sheba 

up  among  the  encamped  Hebrews,  the  figure  of  the  Eternal  being  con- 
cealed in  it.  Moses  is  seen  kneeling  before  it.  (36)  Moses  Presenting 
the  Law  to  the  People.  P'rom  a  raised  mound  Moses  shows  the  tables 
of  the  law  to  the  assembled  people.  This  is  one  of  the  finest  composi- 
tions in  the  galleries. 

TenthArcade:  (37)  The  Passage  of  the  Jordan.  Theriver  Jordan,  per- 
sonified as  an  old  man  as  in  classical  days,  separates  its  waters  to  allow 
the  priests  carrying  the  ark,  the  people  of  Israel,  and  the  warriors  to 
cross  over  dry-shod.  (38)  The  Taking  of  Jericho.  While  the  warriors, 
followed  by  the  ark,  make  the  circuit  of  the  city,  the  walls  and  towers 
fall,  giving  free  entry  to  the  besiegers.  It  is  doubtful  whether  Raphael 
designed  this  picture.  (39)  Joshua  Halts  the  Sun.  Joshua,  on  horse- 
back in  command  of  his  fighting  men,  makes  sign  to  the  sun  and  moon 
to  stop  in  their  courses  so  that  the  warriors  of  Israel  may  complete  their 


182 


THE  VATICAN 


victory  over  the  Amorites.  (40) 
The  Division  of  the  Lands.  Joshua 
and  the  high  priest  Eleazar  are 
seated  on  thrones  before  two 
urns,  from  one  of  whicli  a  boy 
takes  out  a  paper  which  lie  gives 
to  the  head  of  the  tribe.  It  is  a 
feeble  work.  Vasari  assigns  all 
the  works  in  this  arcade  to  Perino 
del  ^'aga. 

Eleventh  Arcade:  (41)  David 
Anointed  King  by  Samuel.  In  the 
temple,  David,  surrounded  by  his 
brothers,  is  anointed  by  Samuel, 
while  sacrifice  is  made  ready  on 
an  altar.  There  are  suggestions 
of  Giulio  Romano  here.  (42) 
David  Slaying  Goliath.  The  giant, 
hit  by  the  stone,  is  stretched  on  the 
earth,  and  David,  with  one  knee 
pressing  his  chest,  is  about  to  cut 
off  his  head  with  his  sword.  At 
the  sight  the  Philistines  flee  and 
are  being  pursued  by  the  Hebrews. 
(43)  David's  Triumph.  Like  an 
ancient  conqueror,  David  stands 
upright  in  a  chariot,  surrounded 
by  his  w^arriors,  who  bear  along  the  prisoners  and  the  booty.  (44) 
David  and  Bathsheba.  David,  at  a  window^  of  his  palace,  is  looking  at 
his  soldiers  marching  out  against  the  Amorites  when  he  chances  to  see 
Bathsheba  on  a  terrace. 

Twelfth  Arcade:  (45)  The  Anointment  of  Solomon.  In  the  presence 
of  an  applauding  crowd,  the  high  priest  anoints  Solomon  as  king  of 
Israel.  In  the  foreground  the  reclining  figure  of  an  old  man  symbolizes 
the  river  Tigris.  (4(5)  The  Judgment  of  Solomon.  In  the  background 
Solomon  is  seated  on  his  throne,  and  in  sight  of  the  two  mothers,  one 
of  whom  is  a  suppliant  on  her  knees  while  the  other  asks  him  to  divide 
the  child  in  two,  he  orders  a  soldier  not  to  harm  the  infant.  The  wise 
men  express  their  admiration.  The  picture  has  very  little,  if  any,  in- 
spiration drawn  from  Raphael.  (47)  The  Queen  of  Sheba.  The  queen, 
followed  by  her  servants  laden  with  gifts,  advances  towards  the  throne 
of  Solomon,  who  bends  to  embrace  her.    The  design  is  faulty  and  can 


Door  showins  the  Arms  of  Gregory  XIII 
(Sixteenth  Century) 


[183  3 


184  THE  VATICAN 

hardly  be  the  work  of  Raphael.  (48)  The  Building  of  the  Temple. 
Solomon  has  come  out  to  visit  the  foundations  of  the  Temple,  and  is 
examining  the  plan  shown  him  by  the  architect.  In  the  foreground  the 
workmen  are  busy  hewing  stones  and  sawing  wood. 

Thirteenth  Arcade:  (49)  The  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds.  The  Vir- 
gin is  kneeling  before  the  Child,  on  whom  two  angels  are  dropping 
flowers.  To  the  left  the  shepherds  are  seen  coming  with  gifts.  On  the 
other  side  Joseph  beckons  to  a  shepherd  to  draw  near.  The  fresco  has 
been  damaged  considerably.  (50)  The  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  In  the 
centre  the  three  kings  are  on  their  knees  before  the  Virgin  and  the 
Child.  The  oldest  king  is  kissing  the  Child's  foot.  The  slaves  follow 
behind.  To  the  left  Joseph  is  lifting  with  much  curiosity  the  lid  of  one 
of  the  vases  brought  by  the  kings.  (51 )  The  Baptism  of  Christ.  Christ 
stands  with  joined  hands  on  the  river  bank  and  St.  John  is  pouring 
water  on  his  head.  Behind  the  figure  of  Christ  a  group  of  men  are 
disrobing  for  baptism.  Two  angels  near  St.  John  hold  the  garments  of 
the  Saviour.  (52)  The  Last  Supper.  The  Apostles  are  seated  around 
the  table  and  the  Saviour  is  in  the  centre.  The  figures  of  the  Apostles 
are  full  of  movement. 

Having  thus  briefly  described  the  sacred  scenes  on  the  roof  that  go 
to  make  up  Raphael's  Bible,  it  remains  for  us  to  run  over  the  rich 
decoration  and  stucco  work  and  coloring  on  the  pilasters  and  arches 
and  windows  of  the  Loggie.  The  name  usually  given  to  these  details 
is  that  of  "grottesche,"  because  they  were  copied  from  Roman  monu- 
ments long  buried  away,  which  were  and  are  known  as  grotte. 

It  is  certain  that  these  ornaments  are  derived  from  Roman  remains, 
notably  from  Nero's  Domus  Aurea,  which  was  at  one  time  called  the 
Baths  of  Titus. 

Vasari,  in  his  life  of  Giovanni  da  Udine,  tells  how  that  artist,  together 
with  his  master  Raphael,  visited  the  rooms  of  the  Domus  Aurea,  which 
had  just  been  discovered  near  San  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  and  how  Raphael 
was  so  pleased  with  their  decorations  that  he  ordered  his  pupil  to  make 
copies  of  them  for  use  in  the  Loggie.  Moreover,  quite  recently,  on  the 
roof  of  one  of  the  galleries  in  that  House  of  Nero  a  graffito  has  been 
discovered  recording  the  very  name  of  this  painter:  juan  da  vdene 
FiRLANO.  Antiquity,  indeed,  was  laid  under  tribute  for  the  ideas  in 
these  galleries,  but  there  was  no  real  plagiarism.  Giovanni  da  Udine 
adapted  the  ancient  models,  and  he  did  so  with  exquisite  taste  and  judg- 
ment. He  took  the  parts  and  made  a  new  whole  of  them,  and  the  result 
is  one  of  the  finest  creations  of  the  Renaissance,  a  story-book  in  colors 
full  of  dreams  and  fancies.  The  pilasters  and  walls  are  dotted  with 
stucco  work  and  pictures:  mythological  subjects,  cupids,  plants,  fruits, 


THE  LOGGIE  OF  RAPHAEL  185 

vases,  animals,  landscapes,  fantastic  originals  and  copies  of  ancient 
statues,  musical  instruments,  fishes,  birds,  flying  ribbons,  are  to  be  seen 
on  every  hand;  and  in  a  charming  stucco  frame  in  a  window  nook 
Raphael  himself  is  painted  together  with  his  pupils,  some  of  whom  are 
mixing  colors,  others  drawing,  others  painting  on  a  wall,  while  the 
master  is  busy  making  a  dainty  design  on  a  canvas  supported  on  his 
knees,  and  lower  down  Fame  blows  a  trumpet  to  proclaim  the  excel- 
lence of  the  whole  work. 

It  is  truly  not  easy  to  imagine  any  work  more  excellent.  Classic 
antiquity,  Bible  story,  legend,  poetry  and  faith,  heaven  and  earth,  and 
the  winds  of  heaven  are  here  drawn  into  one  great  poem  in  which  the 
w^orld  of  Pagandom  meets  the  world  of  Christendom  without  shock, 
save  for  those  who  do  not  understand  the  spirit  that  was  at  work  in  the 
Renaissance.  Giovanni  da  Udine,  to  whom  under  Raphael  the  work  is 
due,  has  known  how  to  avoid  the  pitfalls  of  excess  into  which  the  artists 
of  that  time  were  so  liable  to  fall.  The  arabesque  style  became  preva- 
lent in  the  second  half  of  the  Cinquecento,  but  the  ornaments  employed 
became  stiff  and  heavy  and  too  thickly  laid  on,  and  hence  it  came  to 
pass  that  the  method  soon  began  to  pall.  But  we  must  not  confuse  the 
cold  imitations  of  a  later  day  with  the  beautiful  creations  of  Giovanni 
da  Udine,  in  which  we  find  again  an  outcropping  of  the  beauty  of 
classic  times. 


Part  Three 

THE  VATICAN  MUSEUMS  AND  COLLECTIONS 
AND  THE  MOSAIC  FACTORY 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 

]T  is  very  difficult  for  the  Popes  nowadays  to  rival  their 
predecessors  of  the  Renaissance  period  as  patrons  of 
the  arts.  With  the  best  will  in  the  world,  they  enjoy 
neither  the  means  nor  the  opportunity  to  do  so. 
Nevertheless,  Pope  Pius  X  was  able  on  several  occa- 
sions to  follow  up  the  course  laid  down  by  Papal 
traditions.  Two  artistic  undertakings  in  particular 
he  initiated  with  so  great  success  that  they  alone 
are  enough  lo  win  him  the  gratitude  of  all  artists.  We  refer  to  the  in- 
stitution of  the  New  Picture  Gallery  and  to  the  complete  restoration  of 
the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V,  famous  for  its  glorious  frescoes  by  Fra  An- 
gelico.  The  present  writer  had  the  great  honor  of  being  entrusted  with 
the  latter  work,  and  succeeded  in  bringing  back  to  light  the  small  win- 
dows with  the  painted  sides. 

Up  to  the  year  1909  the  paintings  that  made  up  the  Old  Pinacoteca 
were  gathered  together  on  the  top  floor  of  the  Palace,  in  what  was 
known  as  the  Apartment  of  Gregory  XIIL  It  was  a  steep  climb  up 
there,  and  the  visitor  could  hardly  fail  to  lament  the  fact  that  these 
priceless  artistic  treasures  were  sequestrated  in  a  place  entirely  unsuit- 
able in  lighting  and  space  accommodations.  Moreover,  the  safety  of 
the  pictures  was  not  sufficiently  provided  for.  The  works  contained 
there  were  mainly  those  which  Antonio  Canova  and  Marino  Marini, 
representatives  of  Pius  VII,  had  succeeded  in  recovering  by  the  Treaty 
of  1815  out  of  the  countless  treasures  taken  by  the  French  in  1797  from 
the  Vatican  and  the  churches  in  the  Papal  States.  The  Pope's  envoys 
had  to  overcome  the  prejudices  of  the  Allies  and  difficulties  of  every 
kind,  and  were  forced  to  give  up  all  claims  to  the  collection  of  imperial 
coins,  before  they  got  back  the  more  precious  of  these  paintings.  Sixty- 
seven  pictures  were  allowed  to  re-cross  the  Alps  by  agreement  of  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  on  condition  that  they  would  not  be  returned  to  the 
original  owners,  but  would  be  exposed  for  public  view  in  the  Vatican 
to  be  studied  and  copied  by  art  lovers.  Thus  began  the  Old  Picture 
Gallery,  which,  under  the  direction  of  Cardinal  Consalvi  and  Canova, 
was  first  of  all  opened  in  the  Appartamento  Borgia.  Soon  afterwards 
it  was  transferred  to  the  Apartment  of  Gregory  XIII  on  the  third  floor 

n  189  •^ 


190  THE  VATICAN 

of  the  Loggie;  then  to  what  is  now  the  Hall  of  the  Tapestries;  later  to 
the  Apartment  of  Pius  V,  where  the  modern  paintings  now  are;  then 
back  to  the  Apartment  of  Gregory  XIII,  whence  Pope  Pius  X  removed 
it  to  its  present  ample  and  worthy  quarters. 

In  bringing  about  this  last  change,  Pius  X  availed  himself  of  the  tech- 
nical experience  of  Architect  Sneider  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces,  of  the 
refined  taste  of  the  Sub-prefect,  Monsignor  Misciatelli,  and  of  the  great 
culture  of  Professor  Seitz  and  Professor  d'Achiardi,  the  present  writer's 


One  of  the  Halls  in  the  Old  Picture  Gallery 

predecessor.  For  Professor  Seitz  it  was  a  labor  of  love:  he  was  not, 
however,  destined  to  see  his  work  completed,  for  on  the  day  when 
Raphael's  Transfiguration  was  lowered  with  cords  and  pulleys  from 
the  top  of  the  Cortile  di  Belvedere,  he  was  so  overcome  with  emotion 
that  during  the  night  he  succumbed  to  an  attack  of  heart  disease.  Be- 
sides the  paintings  in  the  old  collection,  the  New  Gallery  has  the  collec- 
tion of  Primitives,  hidden  away  previously  in  the  glass  cases  of  the 
Library,  the  small  but  celebrated  Lateran  collection,  the  Byzantines  of 
the  Christian  Museum,  and  other  works  of  singular  value  that  had  been 
scattered  throughout  the  storerooms  and  apartments  of  the  Apostolic 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


191 


The  Ceiling  of  a  Hall  in  the  Old  Picture  Gallery, 
showing  the  Signs  of  the  Zodiac  (L.  B.  Alberti) 

Palaces.  The  halls  which  were  to  receive  this  collection  were  arranged 
and  decorated  with  a  nobility  in  keeping  with  the  best  artistic  traditions 
of  the  Vatican.  In  admiring  the  severe  elegance  of  the  halls  wherein 
the  pictures  are  so  favorably  displayed  and  their  safety  so  amply  pro- 
vided for,  no  one  would  imagine  that  these  quarters  on  the  east  of  the 
Cortile  di  Belvedere  were  formerly  the  storerooms  of  the  Horeria  and 
the  coach-house  of  the  Vatican.  The  halls  are  nine  in  number,  and  are 
reached  by  that  street  which  leads  to  the  Museums  and  is  so  well  known 
to  thousands  of  Vatican  visitors.  Over  the  entrance  door  is  a  slab  with 
an  inscription  and  a  bust  of  Pius  X  carved  by  the  sculptor  Seeback. 
The  inscription  is  from  the  pen  of  Monsignor  Aurelio  Galli,  Secretary 
for  Latin  Letters,  and  reads : 

Pius.  X.    Pont.  Max. 

Pinacothecam  Vaticanam 

Laudatorum  operum    Accessione     Auctam 

Heic  splendore    Attributa  Sede 

Statuendam  Ordinandam  Curavit 

Sacri  Principatus  Anno  VI. 

The  light  enters  through  the  windows  which  overlook  the  Cortile 


192 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Hall  of  the  Trecento  or  Primitives 

di  S.  Damaso.  These  windows  were  cut  according  to  ancient  designs, 
so  that  the  plans  of  Sneider  entailed  to  a  certain  extent  a  restoration  of 
one  side  of  the  majestic  Cortile.  The  decorations  of  the  hall  are  uni- 
formly severe  and  noble.  The  doors  are  framed  wath  white  marble 
slabs,  and  over  the  architrave  the  name  of  the  Pope  appears  in  carved 
gilt  lettering.  The  ceilings  are  adorned  with  stucco-work  in  pure 
Cinquecento  stjde,  interspersed  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  Pius  X.  The 
walls  are  covered  with  olive  green  silk,  against  which  the  rich  gilding 
of  the  picture  frames  stands  out  boldly;  the  heating  arrangements  are 
skilfully  concealed  in  the  walnut  panelling  near  the  floor,  and  to  com- 
plete the  comfort  and  nobility  of  the  room  there  is  an  abundance  of 
chairs  and  elegant  lounges,  of  the  shape  called  raffaelesca,  and  decora- 
tive pieces  of  precious  marble. 

One  of  the  chief  charms  of  the  Vatican  Picture  Gallery  is  the  great 
variety  of  its  most  rare  and  valuable  paintings,  for  the  visitor  can  pass 
from  the  early  imitations  of  the  Greeks  down  to  the  modern  paintings 
of  a  Lawrence.  The  task  of  arranging  such  a  collection  so  as  to  satisfy 
at  once  esthetic  demands  and  sound  scientific  requirements  fell  to  the 
painter  Seitz  and  Professor  d'Achiardi.    On  the  death  of  Seitz,  d'Achi- 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


193 


The  Hall  of  the  Tieccnto 


anli  had  to  complete  the  gk)rious 

work  alone.    In  the  tirst  room,  to 

the  right  of  the  vestibule,  are  to  be 

found  the  Primitives  and  Byzan- 
tines,  paintings  hitherto  for  the 

most  part  kept  in  the  Library  or 

Christian  Museum.    In  the  second 

room — known  as  the  Melozzo  Hall, 

because  it  has  the  famous  fresco 

of  the  Romagnolo  painter-  are  ex- 
amples of  many  Italian  schools  of 

the    Quattro-    and     Cincpiecento. 

Then  comes  the  Hall  of  the  School 

of  Umbria  and  the  Marches,  which 

precedes  the  hall  devoted  to  the 

School    of    Raphael.      Beginning 

again  at  the  vestibule,  to  the  left, 

we    meet    successively    the    Hall 

of  the  Venetian  School,  the  Hall 

of  the  Secentisti,  and  the  Hall  of 

Foreign  Painters.  In  all,  then,  including  the  atrium  and  the  store- 
room wherein  are  kept  all  the  paintings  that  are  not  considered  worthy 
of  a  place  in  the  Gallery,  there  are  nine  rooms  skilfully  and  logically 
planned. 

The  Primitives  in  the  first  hall  represent  the  most  tasteful  novelty  of 
the  Gallery,  but  have  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  identilied  or  criti- 
cized. They  are  all  small-sized  paintings,  and  were  until  recent  times 
kept  in  glass  cases  in  the  Library,  where,  owing  to  the  poor  light  and  the 
reflections  of  the  glass,  it  was  difficult  to  examine  them.  For  the  most 
part  they  date  from  the  fourteenth  century,  though  there  are  some  of 
earlier  date,  and  the  majority  belong  to  the  Central  Italian  Schools — 
Florentine,  Sienese  and  Bolognese.  A  framed  painting  belonging  to 
the  first  school  is  of  special  interest.  It  shows  in  the  upper  half  the 
Crucifixion,  in  which  the  Virgin  falls  beneath  the  weight  of  her  sorrow 
and  is  being  supported  by  the  holy  women;  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross  are 
Sts.  Francis  and  Mary  Magdalen,  Sis.  .lohn  the  Apostle  and  John  the 
Baptist.  In  the  lower  half  are  seated  in  hieratic  attitudes  before  some 
draperies  Sts.  Paul,  Peter  and  Louis  of  Toulouse.  This  is  a  truly  mas- 
terly work  not  only  because  of  its  breadth  of  treatment,  but  also  be- 
cause of  its  dramatic  force.  In  our  opinion,  therefore,  it  has  been  very 
properly  attributed  to  Giotto:  such  is  also  Berenson's  opinion,  and  he 
is  supported  by  Cochin,  wdio,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Bishop  of 


194 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Hall  of  the  Quattrocento,  or  Melozzo  Hall 

Toulouse  here  portrayed  was  a  near  relative  of  Robert  of  Anjou,  for 
whom  Giotto  was  painting  at  Naples  from  1330  to  1332,  holds  that  the 
work  belongs  to  this  period  in  the  activity  of  the  famous  painter. 
Grouped  around  the  painting  are  many  smaller  ones  in  the  Giotto  man- 
ner from  various  parts  of  Italy,  testifying  to  the  great  influence  exer- 
cised by  the  Florentine  master  in  his  own  day;  one  of  the  best  of  these 
is  a  Madonna  and  Child  against  a  golden  background,  the  work  of  Ber- 
nardo Daddi.  Faithful  to  the  Giotto  tradition,  but  heralding  the  dawn 
of  the  Quattrocento  and  the  advent  of  Angelico,  are  a  group  of  pictures 
by  Lorenzo  Monaco,  some  of  which — for  example,  the  Story  of  St. 
Benedict,  the  Crucifixion,  and  the  Nativity — are  certainly  by  his  own 
hand. 

The  Sienese  School  is  even  more  fully  represented.  Among  those 
that  give  particular  evidence  of  the  Giotto  influence  are  Bartolo  di 
Fredi's  Angel  Appearing  to  St.  Joachim,  and  the  Death  of  Mary  by  his 
pupil,  Taddeo  di  Bartolo,  whose  name  is  linked  with  the  decorations 
of  the  upper  chapel  in  the  Communal  Palace  of  Siena.  The  latter  little 
tablet  shows  with  charming  simplicity  the  soul  of  the  Virgin  in  the 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


195 


The  Madonna  and  Child,  with  Saints  and  Angels 
(Fra  Angelico) 


196 


THE  VATICAN 


Episodes  from  the  Life  of  St.  Nicholas  of  Bari 
(Fra  Angelico) 

form  of  a  young  child  wrapped  in  golden  draperies  and  resting  in  the 
arms  of  Christ,  while  several  apostles  and  angels  stand  round  the  dead 
body.  A  work  of  great  importance,  not  alone  for  its  intrinsic  value  but 
also  for  the  history  of  art,  is  the  Christ  Blessing  by  an  artist  who  had 
pronounced  influence  on  the  Sienese  School,  and  helped  to  free  it  from 
the  Greek  inlluence  of  Duccio  di  l^oninsegna.  This  picture  by  Simone 
Martini,  and  especially  the  Crucifixion  by  Lippo  Menni,  in  view  of  its 
excellent  stale  of  preservation,  are  among  the  most  precious  docu- 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


197 


The  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer 
(Francesco  del  Cossa) 

ments  for  the  study  of  the  beginnings  of  the  art  of  painting  in  Italy. 
The  Crucifixion  is  the  central  panel  of  a  triptych,  of  winch  the  wings 
are  missing.  Of  no  less  importance  is  Pietro  Lorenzetti's  tablet  Christ 
before  Pilate,  a  work  known  to  and  described  by  Cavalcaselle.  The 
manners  of  the  two  Lorenzetti  can  be  advantageously  studied  and  dis- 
tinguished in  many  paintings  in  this  group,  particularly  in  eight  tablets 
which  even  to-day  cannot  be  attributed  to  either  with  certainty. 

The  Bolognese  Primitives  are  well  represented;  there  is,  for  exam- 
ple, a  table  by  Vitale  Cavalli,  showing  the  Madonna  and  Child  blessing 
a  group  of  kneeling  disciples,  which  bears  the  signature,  Vitalis  de 
Bonomia  I. 

Mention  must  here  be  made  of  one  of  the  important  works  of  the 
ancient  Florentine  school,  the  Madonna  Enthroned  with  her  Son  and 
Four  Saints  and  with  other  figures  in  the  cusps  of  the  polyptych.  This 
work  is  dated  1.372,  and  is  noteworthy  for  its  exceptional  size,  but  above 
all  for  the  signature  of  the  artist,  Giovanni  Bonsi,  of  whom  no  other 
w^ork  is  known.  Indeed,  the  painting  itself  w^as  unknown  until  the  New 
Picture  Gallery  was  opened,  for  it  had  previously  lain  neglected  in  the 
Vatican  storerooms.  This  polyptych,  however,  possesses  a  peculiar 
interest  as  an  example  of  Tuscan  painting  from  the  second  half  of  the 
Trecento.  It  is  also  of  great  intrinsic  interest,  especially  for  the  expres- 
sion of  the  saints  on  the  sides  of  the  central  panel;  this  expression  be- 
comes especially  effective  in  the  wald  face  of  the  hermit  St.  Honuphrius, 
in  the  panel  on  the  left. 


198 


THE  VATICAN 


TIh'  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer 
(Francesco  del  Cossa) 

The  Oncagna  School  and  its  traditions  are  represented  by  a  picture 
of  the  first  rank,  the  Regina  Sanctorum  by  Giovanni  del  Biondo.  The 
scene  shows  the  Madonna  and  Child  enthroned  against  a  background 
of  gold  and  purple  drapery  held  by  two  angels.  To  the  left  are  four 
male  saints,  to  the  right  four  female  saints,  and  in  the  sky  above  an 
angel  is  seen  purifying  with  a  live  coal  the  lips  of  the  prophet  Isaiah. 
This  beautiful  tablet,  which  glistens  with  gold,  is  framed  wath  the  motif 
of  the  Annunciation,  while  on  the  predella  is  seen  a  figure  dear  to  the 
artists  of  the  Trecento— a  decaying  corpse,  the  object  of  salutary  fear 
and  meditation. 

From  the  Florentines  who  followed  Agnolo  Gaddi  we  have  many 
valuable  paintings;  the  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  John  and  St.  Cath- 
erine is  attributed  to  Niccolo  di  Pietro  Gerini,  and  the  St.  Nicholas  Free- 
ing Three  Knights  is  said  to  be  by  his  son,  Lorenzo  di  Niccolo. 

The  icons  taken  from  the  Christian  Museum  are  for  the  most  part 
arranged  on  the  sides  of  the  deep  apertures  of  the  windows  in  this 
room.  ^Yhile  it  is  not  unusual  to  hear  it  said  that  these  are  fabulously 
old  works— for  instance,  the  Burial  of  St.  Ephraem  is  said  to  be  a  work 
of  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century,  wdiereas  it  is  really  signed  by  Ema- 
nuele  Zanfurnari,  a  sixteenth-century  artist— the  truth  is  that  they  are 
early  Renaissance  works  done  by  Greek  artists  or  artists  under  Greek 
influence.  The  oldest  of  the  group,  and  that  which  bears  the  clearest 
traces  of  the  Byzantine  style,  is  a  painting  by  Margaritone  d'Arezzo 
(Margarito  de  Aretio  me  fecil)  from  the  second  half  of  the  Dugento, 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


The  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer 
(Francesco  del  Cossa) 

depicting  St.  Francis  Showing  the  Stigmata.  The  painting  is  a  vener- 
able and  most  important  relic,  and,  like  other  pictures  of  the  same 
period  at  Siena,  Pisa  and  Arezzo,  as  well  as  the  earlier  one  at  the  Sacro 
Speco  of  Subiaco,  is  a  noteworthy  iconographic  document  of  the  Pove- 
rello  of  Assisi,  who  was  the  first  in  the  obscurity  of  the  Middle  Ages  to 
feel  the  breath  of  the  coming  dawn,  and  with  whom  is  linked  the  ideal- 
ism revealed  in  the  works  of  art  gathered  in  this  very  room. 

The  various  currents  of  Italian  art  in  the  fifteenth  century  are  repre- 
sented by  works  of  exceptional  importance  in  the  second  room,  which 
exceeds  all  the  others  in  size,  and  holds  a  surprise  for  visitors  to  the 
New  Gallery,  since  the  majority  of  the  works  were  not  on  view  in  the 
Old  Picture  Gallery.  Here  are,  for  instance,  three  undoubtedly  authen- 
tic works  by  Fra  Angelico,  of  which  one,  in  an  excellent  state  of  preser- 
vation, shows  the  Virgin  in  glory  with  the  Child,  St.  Dominic  and  St. 
Catherine.  The  two  others  contain  episodes  from  the  life  of  St.  Nich- 
olas of  Bari:  the  first  of  these  panels  tells  the  story  of  his  birth,  the  gift 
of  a  dowry  to  the  three  poor  sisters  while  they  are  asleep,  and  the 
preconizing  of  the  holy  youth  as  bishop  at  the  entrance  to  a  church, 
while  a  crowd  of  the  faithful  are  assembled  on  a  flowering  sward;  the 
other  panel  tells  the  miracles  of  the  multiplication  of  the  sacks  of 
grain  and  the  apparition  of  St.  Nicholas  to  save  a  vessel  from  ship- 
wreck. These  two  panels  formed  part  of  a  predella  painted  by  An- 
gelico about  1437  for  the  Chapel  of  S.  Niccolo  dei  Guidolotti  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Dominic  in  Perugia,  and  some  parts  of  the  third  panel 
are  still  treasured  in  the  Picture  Gallery  of  that  city. 


200 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Miracles  of  SI.  Viiueiit  l"crrcr 
(Francesco  del  Cossa) 

Around  these  most  precious  works  have  been  judiciously  grouped 
paintings  depicting  episodes  in  the  life  of  Christ:  the  Birth,  the  Adora- 
tion of  the  Magi,  Jesus  in  the  Temple,  the  Transfiguration,  the  Entry 
into  Jerusalem;  all  these  were  formerly  kept  in  the  Library,  and  evi- 
dently belong  to  the  school  of  Fra  Angelico.  One  scene,  which  is  an  early 
work  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli  and  was  painted  in  the  middle  of  the  Quattro- 
cento, shows  so  clearly  the  influence  of  Angelico  that  it  was  long  attrib- 
uted to  him.  It  is  a  painting  in  tempera,  done  for  the  Church  of  St. 
Fortunatus  near  Montefaico,  and  shows  the  Virgin  surrounded  by  a 
choir  of  angels  and  giving  a  girdle  to  St.  Thomas.  On  the  predella  are 
six  scenes  from  the  Virgin's  life — her  Birth  and  Espousals,  the  Annun- 
ciation, the  Birth  of  Christ,  the  Circumcision  and  the  Dormition;  here 
the  influence  of  Fra  Angelico  is  still  more  evident,  just  as  the  admirable 
power  of  the  drawings  speaks  of  Gozzoli.  Under  the  central  part  of  the 
altarpiece  is  a  rectangular  hole,  which  tradition  declares  was  used  in 
giving  Communion  to  cloistered  nuns. 

Among  other  Tuscan  works  of  the  early  Quattrocento  two  are  attrib- 
uted to  iMasolino  da  Panicale — the  Crucilixion  and  the  Dormition.  The 
school  of  Fra  Angelico  and  IMasolino  are  seen  united  in  the  famous  trip- 
tych by  Fra  Filippo  Lippi,  which  is  held  to  be  one  of  the  most  character- 
istic works  of  the  master,  and,  notwithstanding  the  great  progress 
made  by  painting  technique,  still  astonished  Vasari  by  its  freshness  of 
coloring.  As  is  well  known,  the  work  was  ordered  by  Carlo  Marsup- 
pini,  secretary  to  the  Florentine  Republic,  who  is  shown  in  a  panel  to 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


201 


Head  of  St.  Jerome 
(Leonardo  da  Vinci) 


202  THE  VATICAN 

the  left  offering  it  to  the  Chapel  of 
St.  Bernard  at  Mount  Oliveto.  The 
central  panel  shows  Christ  on  a 
throne  of  precious  marble  crown- 
ing the  Virgin;  the  panel  on  the 
right  shows  the  donor  in  ecclesi- 
astical garb  being  presented  by 
two  monastic  saints;  the  panel  on 
the  left  also  shows  a  personage,  in 
an  ermine-lined  cassock,  assisted 
by  two  monastic  saints.  In  the 
background  of  the  panels  appear 
three  angels  playing  on  musical 
instruments. 

Coming  from  the  private  apart- 
ments of  the  Vatican,  and  there- 
fore hitherto  unknown  to  art 
students,  is  a  precious  painting 
showing  St.  Francis  Receiving  the 
Stigmata  against  a  marvellous 
background  of  landscape-work.  It 

is  a  fifteenth-century  work,  and  shows  some  characteristics  of  Piero 
delta  Francesca,  as  well  as  traces  of  the  Florentine  influence  exercised 
by  Angelico  and  Lippi. 

In  this  same  room  there  is  a  very  interesting  group  of  small  tablets 
taken  from  the  Library  and  belonging  to  the  Sienese  School  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  the  works  of  which  are  now  so  much  sought  after  by 
art  lovers.    This  school  is  represented  by  the  most  prominent  artists. 

To  Stefano  di  Giovanni,  known  as  II  Sassetta,  is  attributed  a  graceful 
work  showing  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  in  his  monk's  robes  adoring  Christ 
crucified,  who  speaks  to  him,  saying:  "Bene  scripsisti  de  me,  Thoma." 
There  are  many  works  by  artists  who  imitated  II  Sassetta,  such  as  Pelle- 
grino  del  Mariano  and  Sano  di  Pietro.  To  the  latter  are  attributed 
various  tablets  of  which  some  depict  episodes  from  the  Golden  Legend; 
but  most  elegant  of  all  is  the  Espousals  of  the  Virgin,  which  is  crowded 
with  the  figures  of  boy  and  girl  musicians,  and  is  an  admirable  embodi- 
ment of  the  delicacy  of  the  Sienese  School  during  the  Quattrocento. 
Among  other  celebrated  masters  of  the  Sienese  School  must  be  men- 
tioned Giovanni  del  Poggio,  one  of  whose  works  here  shown  was  used 
as  a  cover  for  the  tax-register  of  Siena  during  the  years  1444  and  1445, 
a  very  significant  instance  of  the  wonderful  love  of  art  in  those  days. 
Who  can  conceive  a  ledger  to-day  with  such  a  cover! 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


203 


I'opc  Si\Uis  1\    and  II  rialiiia 
(Melozzo  da  Forli) 


204 


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Details  from  Pope  Sixtiis  IV  iiiul  II  I'lalina 
(Melozzo  da  Forli) 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY  205 

But  the  visitor  to  this  room  is  confronted  by  even  more  splendid 
relics  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  the  most  famous  masters  of  the  epoch 
being  here  represented.  We  have  the  celebrated  predella  of  Francesco 
del  Cossa,  showing  the  Miracles  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer;  this  work  comes 
from  the  Old  Picture  Gallery,  and,  as  Frizzoni  has  shown,  belonged 
(like  the  St.  Peter  and  St.  John,  now  in  the  Brera  at  Milan,  and  the  St. 
Vincent  Ferrer,  now  in  the  National  Gallery  of  London)  to  the  altar  of 


Thf  Hall  of  the  School  of  Umbria  and  the  Marclu 


the  Griffani  Chapel  in  St.  Petronius's  at  Bologna.  It  is  true  that  Vasari 
attributes  the  predella  doubtfully  to  another  Farrarese,  Ercole  de  Ro- 
berto; but  all  critics  now  agree  that  the  great  artist  who  painted  it  is  the 
same  as  the  one  who  decorated  the  Schifanoia  Palace.  The  predella 
shows  the  healing  of  a  leprous  woman,  the  healing  of  a  sister  of  the 
Queen  of  Aragon  who  had  been  struck  down  by  a  rock,  a  mason's  assis- 
tant falling  from  a  house  in  construction  and  kept  suspended  by  the 
saint,  and  the  restoration  to  life  of  a  child  who  had  been  torn  to  pieces 
by  his  insane  mother.  All  these  scenes,  which  take  place  against  a 
background  of  fantastic  and  luminous  landscape  with  ruins  and  archi- 


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Madonna  and  Child 
(Francescuccio   Ghissi) 

small  painting,  showing  the  Ma- 
donna and  Child  with  St.  John  and 
St.  Anne,  is  attributed  to  Andrea 
del  Sarto. 

The  rare  gem  of  the  room  is 
Leonardo's  St.  Jerome,  a  vigorous 
work  revealing  the  master's  tech- 
nique at  its  best  and  bringing  out 
his  perfect  knowledge  of  form, 
which  has  never  been  surpassed. 
This  picture,  which  is  among  the 
very  few  executed  by  the  master's 
own  hand,  has  had  a  strange  his- 
tory. It  belonged  to  the  Cardinal 
Fesch  collection,  and  the  story 
runs  that  His  Eminence  was  so 
lucky  as  to  come  into  possession 
of  the  two  pieces  of  the  canvas  at 
different  times;  no  one  seems  to 
know  how  it  ever  came  to  be  torn 
and  separated.    The  church  in  the 


lecture,  are  nothing  more  than  a 
pretext  for  the  artist  to  crystallize 
for  ever  by  the  magic  of  his  in- 
cisive drawing  the  costumes  and 
the  everyday  life  of  Ferrara  in 
the  days  of  the  Renaissance. 

In  this  room  are  also  seen  two 
large  figures  of  apostles,  a  St. 
Peter  and  a  St.  Paul,  by  Fra  Barto- 
lomeo  delta  Porta;  these  were  for- 
merly in  the  Church  of  St.  Silves- 
ter of  Montecavallo,  and,  if  we  are 
to  believe  Vasari,  one  of  them  was 
finished  by  Raphael.  Both  cer- 
tainly were  influenced  by  Raphael 
and  Michelangelo.  The  Virgin  and 
Child  is  a  beautiful  painting  of  the 
pure  Tuscan  School;  the  Virgin  is 
seated  at  a  window  opening  on  a 
bright  landscape,  and  the  whole  is 
the  work  of  Lorenzo  da  Credi.    A 


The  Cainerino  Triptych 
(Niccolo  Alunno) 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


207 


208 


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'I'liL'  \iiKin  (.1    liir  H<ila 
(Antoiiiazzo  Romano) 

background  reminds  one  of  the  architecture  of  S.  Maria  Novella,  and 
from  this  we  may  fix  the  date  of  the  sketch  as  being  before  1489,  that  is, 
in  the  master's  Florentine  period. 

In  this  room  are  exhibited  some  of  the  paintings  belonging  to  the 
Northern  Italian  School.  Among  these  is  a  portrait  of  the  boy  Fran- 
cesco Sforza  by  Bernardino  de'  Conti,  signed  and  dated  and  containing 
a  legend  which  identifies  the  boy  as  the  five-year-old  son  of  Galeazzo 
Maria  Sforza.  A  portrait  of  a  man  reveals  the  characteristics  of  Gian 
Battista  Moroni  of  Bergamo,  the  great  portraitist.  Here  too,  though  it 
might  more  fittingly  be  placed  with  the  Venetian  School,  is  a  Madonna 
and  Child  with  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Bartholomew^  by  II  Moretto;  this 
painting  is  known  as  the  Madonna  of  the  Pears  from  two  piles  of  fruit 
near  the  foot  of  the  throne.  The  w^ork  apparently  belongs  to  the  later 
period  of  the  Brescian  master,  when  the  characteristic  brightness  of 
his  silver  tones  began  to  be  a  little  dulled. 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


209 


The   Madonna   Enthroned    with   Saints 

(Perugino) 


But  this  whole  room  is  appro- 
priately known  as  the  Meiozzo 
Hall  from  Meiozzo  da  Forli,  whose 
celebrated  fresco  is  given  the  place 
of  honor  between  two  good  can- 
vases by  one  of  his  pupils,  Marco 
Palmezano.  These  two  canvases 
come  from  the  Lateran.  One  is  a 
Madonna  Enthroned  with  her  Son, 
dated  1537;  the  central  figures  are 
surrounded  by  six  saints,  while  an 
angel  plays  a  musical  instrument. 
The  other  painting  is  a  variation 
of  the  same  theme  with  fewer  per- 
sonages. Both  pictures,  which  are 
practically  the  same  size,  bear 
traces  of  Venetian  influence,  and 
belong  to  the  last  period  of  the 
artist's  activity,  although  they  give 
no  evidence  of  enfeebled  powers. 

We  now  come  to  Melozzo's  masterpiece.  When  Sixtus  IV  was  re- 
arranging the  Library  in  1477,  he  had  this  fresco  painted  for  the  space 
between  two  windows  of  the  hall  now  known  as  the  Floreria  Apos- 
tolica,  where  even  to-day  traces  of  the  original  decoration  may  be  seen 
on  the  ceiling  and  majolica  floor.  As  in  his  time  the  fresco  was  in  a 
poor  condition,  Leo  XII  had  it  transferred  to  canvas  so  that  it  might  be 
given  a  more  w^orthy  setting,  and  since  then  it  has  been  preserved  in 
the  Picture  Gallery.  Meiozzo  shows  Pope  Sixtus  IV  in  the  Library  in- 
vesting the  humanist  Bartolomeo  Sacchi,  called  II  Platina,  as  Prefect  of 
the  Apostolic  Library.  The  scene  is  rendered  with  miraculous  truth, 
and  the  perspective  of  the  Library  is  perfect.  The  Pope  is  accompanied 
by  his  nephews,  Raffaello  and  Gerolamo  Riario  (later  Governor  of  the 
Papal  States),  and  Giovanni  and  Giuliano  delta  Rovere,  who  was  after- 
wards Pope  Julius  II,  and  whose  reign  was  immortalized  by  the  works 
of  Raphael  and  Michelangelo.  The  work  is  nothing  but  a  grouping  of 
entirely  distinct  portraits,  without  any  special  connection  with  the 
action  which  the  painting  aims  at  representing;  but  we  must  go  to 
Mantegna  to  find  anything  equal  to  the  perfection  of  drawing,  which  is 
here  intensified  by  the  artist's  profound  penetration  into  the  characters 
of  the  persons  portrayed.  The  figures  have  the  relief  of  living  persons, 
and  reveal  to  the  spectator  at  the  first  glance  their  peculiar  characteris- 
tics.   The  satirical  and  indomitable  spirit  of  the  humanist  is  shown  in 


210 


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THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


211 


The  Anniiiicialiiiii 
(Raphael) 

his  sharp  visage  and  tightly  closed  lips,  while  the  vigorous  will  of  the 
future  Pope  appears  in  the  firmness  of  his  powerful  jaw.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  appreciate  the  true  artistic  worth  of  this  great  Romagnolo  mas- 
ter of  the  fifteenth  century  unless  one  has  seen  and  studied  this  fresco. 
The  later  developments  of  painting  may  perhaps  prevent  us  from  shar- 
ing in  all  the  enthusiasm  of  Vasari  and  Luca  Pacioli  for  Melozzo's  grasp 
of  aerial  perspective,  but  even  to-day  we  are  astounded  at  the  incredible 
skill  of  the  execution  and  the  unrivalled  lucidity  and  splendor  of  the 
coloring. 

The  third  room  is  given  over  exclusively  to  the  School  of  Umbria 
and  the  Marches  before  the  coming  of  Raphael,  whose  works,  being 
assembled  in  the  next  room,  thus  receive  a  logical  introduction. 

The  influence  of  the  Florentine,  and  more  especially  of  the  Sienese, 
School  on  the  Primitives  of  the  Marches  is  very  evident  in  the  beautiful 
triptych  by  Allegretto  Nuzi  da  Fabriano,  dated  1365,  wherein  the 
gentle  grace  of  the  Virgin  and  of  St.  Ursula,  painted  on  the  panel  to  the 
right,  is  accentuated  by  the  masculine  vigor  of  the  Archangel  Michael 
in  armor.  Another  artist  who  shows  Sienese  influence  is  Francescuccio 
Ghissi,  also  a  native  of  Fabriano  and  a  precursor  of  Gentile.  He  has 
a  characteristic  painting  here,  formerly  kept  in  the  Library,  showing 
with  incomparable  simplicity  and  candor  the  Virgin  suckling  her  Child. 
To  Gentile  are  attributed  four  small  tablets  which,  according  to  Siren, 
once  formed  part  of  a  predella  belonging  to  the  polyptych  of  the  Gon- 
faloniere  Quaratesi  at  St.  Nicholas's  in  Florence.    These  paintings  de- 


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The  Adoralion  of  the  Mixgi 
(Raphael) 

pict  the  miracles  of  St.  Nicholas  of  Bari:  his  Birth,  the  Gift  to  the  Three 
Maidens,  the  Freeing  of  the  Three  Young  Men,  and  the  Apparition  of 
the  Saint  to  save  a  vessel  from  shipwreck.  They  certainly  approach 
very  close  to  the  style  of  this  master,  who  exercised  such  a  great  influ- 
ence on  painting  in  Italy,  and  actively  paved  the  way  for  the  advent  of 
the  Renaissance. 

The  rapid  spread  of  Gentile's  art  is  evident  in  the  Madonna  and  Child 
(known  as  the  Madonna  of  the  Butterfly  because  a  large  coleopter  is 
painted  near  the  Virgin's  shoulder),  by  Francesco  di  Gentile,  supposed 
to  be  the  son  of  the  great  Fabrianese  master;  also  in  the  graceful  frag- 
ment, the  Virgin  and  St.  Anne,  which  shows  the  Virgin  having  her  head 
encircled  with  a  cloth  of  woven  blue  and  gold.  This  painting  is  attrib- 
uted to  Lorenzo  (Jr.)  d'Alessandro  di  Sanseverino.  It  may  be  interest- 
ing to  know  that  the  restoration  of  this  picture  is  due  to  the  diligent 
research  of  Professor  d'Achiardi,  who,  having  noticed  that  the  gold 
background  to  the  Virgin's  head  was  a  recent  addition,  removed  this 
background  and  discovered  beneath  it  a  part  of  the  head  of  St.  Anne. 
He  was  then  so  fortunate  as  to  lind  the  remainder  of  the  painting  hid- 
den away  in  a  storeroom. 

The  three  principal  Umbrian  masters,  Perugino,  Pinturicchio,  and 
Niccolo  di  Liberatore  (known  as  Niccolo  Alunno),  claim  the  visitor's 
attention  in  this  room.  Niccolo  has  a  complicated  polyptych  from 
Montelpare,  dated  14(5();  it  is  divided  into  many  zones,  and  has  two  rows 
of  male  and  female  saints  around  a  central  panel  representing  the 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


213 


The  Presenliifion  in  tlu'  Tumple 
(Haphael) 

Coronation  of  the  Virgin.  More  famous  than  this  work  is  the  triptych 
known  as  the  Camerino,  because  it  comes  from  the  Collegiata  in  that 
town.  Its  three  compartments  are  richly  framed  with  peaks  decorated 
with  Gothic  flourishes.  The  central  panel  shows  the  Crucifixion  with 
the  Madonna,  St.  John,  and  the  Magdalen  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  to- 
gether with  four  angels;  the  panel  on  the  right  shows  St.  John  and  St. 
Porphyry;  that  on  the  left  shows  St.  Peter  and  St.  Venantius.  The  upper 
parts  of  the  triptych  have  scenes  showing  the  Resurrection,  David  and 
Isaiah.  The  intensity  of  the  Folignese  artist  finds  an  outlet  in  the  ex- 
pression of  piety  and  grief  in  the  Crucifixion  scene;  the  anguish  indeed 
which  distorts  the  face  of  St.  John  almost  reaches  the  grotesque. 

A  fresco  fragment  showing  the  Virgin  and  Child  is  attributed  to  Pin- 
turicchio,  but  it  has  been  so  much  restored  that  discussion  of  its  author- 
ship is  now  useless.  Assuredly  Pinturicchio's  is  the  Coronation  of  the 
Virgin  in  a  luminous  oval  surrounded  by  cherubim.  This  was  painted, 
as  Vasari  says,  about  1500  for  the  Friars  Minor  of  the  Fratta  near 
Perugia.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  painting  are  the  twelve  apostles  and 
several  saints  of  the  order  of  Friars  Minor. 

This  room  also  contains  Perugino's  well-known  Resurrection, 
painted  for  the  Church  of  St.  Francis  in  Perugia  in  1502.  The  drawing 
is  so  pure  that  tradition  has  seen  in  this  painting  the  collaboration  of 
Raphael,  and  even  declares  that  the  sleeping  figure  and  the  figure  flee- 
ing at  the  sight  of  the  risen  Christ  are  portraits  of  Raphael  and  Peru- 
gino.    Unfortunately,  the  picture  has  been  many  times  restored. 


214  THE  VATICAN 

In  a  better  state 
of  preservation,  and 
more  intense  in  color 
and  expression,  is  the 
picture  of  the  Three 
Saints  (Placidus,  Fla- 
via  and  Benedict),  a 
fragment  from  the 
great  altarpiece  in 
St.  Peter's,  Perugia, 
Avhich  was  carried 
away  to  France  at 
the  end  of  the  Sette- 
cento,  and  of  which 
only  this  section  and 
a  few  smaller  pieces 
now  at  Perugia  were 
ever  recovered. 

A  very  fme  paint- 
ing of  the  Umbrian 
school,  formerly  in 
the  Pope's  private 
apartments,  is  An- 
ton iazzo  Romano's 
Virgin  of  the  Rota, 
showing  the  Virgin 
between  Sts.  Peter 
and  Paul  receiving 
the  homage  of  the 
twelve  Auditors  of  the  Rota.  The  striking  individuality  expressed  in  the 
faces  of  the  Auditors  confirms  the  fame  of  Antoniazzo  as  a  portraitist. 

Cola  dell'Amatrice's  triptych  of  the  Assumption,  dated  1515,  is  an- 
other important  work,  as  also  is  the  Madonna  delta  Spineta,  painted 
about  1507  by  Giovanni  di  Pietro,  better  known  as  Lo  Spagna  or  Lo 
Spagnolo.  It  was  formerly  in  the  Convent  delta  Spineta  near  Todi,  and 
depicts  in  a  most  novel  way  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  So  beautiful  is 
this  work  that  it  has  at  times  been  attributed  to  Perugino,  to  Pintu- 
ricchio,  and  even  to  Raphael.  It  shows  the  Child  on  a  cushion,  being 
adored  by  his  Mother,  St.  Joseph  and  three  angels.  The  background  is 
a  bright  landscape  in  which  are  seen  the  retinue  of  the  Magi  and  the 
angels  announcing  the  good  tidings  to  the  shepherds.  The  noble  com- 
position is  bounded  above  by  three  angels  holding  a  scroll.    Notwith- 


The  Madonna  of  Foligno 
(Raphael) 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY  215 

standing  the  replica  which  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Louvre,  this  painting 
must  not  only  be  regarded  as  an  original,  but  it  is  one  of  the  best  works 
by  that  rare  artist  who  united  in  himself  all  the  graces  of  the  Umbrian 
School,  and  whose  fame  would  have  been  even  greater  were  it  not  over- 
shadowed by  that  of  the  great  Urbinate  himself. 

In  the  next  room,  the  fourth  to  the  right  from  the  vestibule,  are  the 
works  of  Raphael  Sanzio.  In  this  unrivalled  shrine  the  genius  of  the 
marvellous  artist  first  appears  under  the  intluence  of  Perugino  in  the 
Coronation  of  the  Virgin;  it  later  develops  its  immortal  characteristics 


in  the  Madonna 
finally  surpasses 
Transfiguration, 
mizes  preceding 
forms  of  art  as 
These  paintings, 
ages  and  coun- 
well  known  to 
toric  treatment 
wise  plan  to 
works  of  the 
themselves,  save 
of  his — the  pre- 
glioni  Deposi- 
other  paintings 
special  relation 
work.  The  first 
paintings  is  a 
master  who  had 
ence  on  Raphael, 
gin     Enthroned 


Detail  from  the  Transfiguration 
(Raphael) 


of  Foligno,  and 
itself  in  the 
wherein  it  epito- 
art  and  all  the 
yet  unborn, 
the  noblest  of  all 
tries,  are  too 
need  a  long  his- 
here.  It  was  a 
leave  these 
great  master  by 
fora  minor  work 
delta  of  the  Ra- 
tion— and  three 
which  bear  a 
to  Raphael's 
of  these  three 
work  by  the 
the  most  influ- 
namely,  the  Vir- 
surrounded     by 


Sts.  Laurence,  Louis,  Herculanus  and  Constantius;  this  was  painted 
wath  special  vigor  of  coloring  by  Perugino  for  the  chapel  of  the  Com- 
munal Palace  of  Perugia  in  1496.  The  second  painting,  the  Madonna 
of  Monteluce,  was  ordered  from  Raphael  by  the  nuns  of  the  Convent  of 
Monteluce  near  Pistoia,  and  was  executed  after  his  death,  according  to 
the  designs  of  the  master,  by  Giulio  Romano  and  Penni;  this  was  one 
of  the  two  works  which  most  actively  spread  the  style  of  Raphael.  The 
third,  the  St.  Jerome  by  Giovanni  Santi,  Raphael's  father,  is  a  painting 
in  tempera,  and  bears  no  comparison  to  the  mighty  works  around  it; 
it  does  not  even  belong  to  the  same  school,  since,  as  is  well  known, 
Giovanni  died  when  Raphael  was  only  eleven  years  old,  and  conse- 
quently before  it  was  possible  to  influence  him  in  any  way.    Rut,  apart 


216  THE  VATICAN 

altogether  from  the  sentimental  significance  of  placing  this  work  near 
the  Transfiguration,  the  arrangement  serves  a  valuable  purpose  by 
showing  the  marvellous  artistic  evolution  which  took  place  in  a  brief 
interval  of  time. 

It  will,  however,  be  more  instructive  to  compare  the  Coronation  with 
Perugino's  painting.  Raphael's  work,  completed  in  1503,  is  in  the 
Perugino  manner,  but  has  greater  breadth  of  treatment;  the  drawing  is 
purer,  and  the  composition  and  the  individual  figures  already  reveal 
that  beauty  the  attraction  of  which  Raphael  alone  is  able  to  convey. 
The  development  of  the  great  painter,  who  was  then  hardly  twenty 
years  old,  is  still  more  evident  in  the  predella  of  this  same  altarpiece 
depicting  the  mysteries — that  is,  the  Annunciation,  the  Adoration  of 
the  Magi,  and  the  Presentation  in  the  Temple.  The  scene  of  the  An- 
nunciation is  set  in  an  atmosphere  full  of  intimate  charm  and  mystery; 
in  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi  the  artist  is  given  an  opportunity  to  repre- 
sent, in  accordance  with  the  Umbrian  tradition,  a  rich  cavalcade; 
while  in  the  third  picture  the  well-balanced  composition  is  directly  in- 
spired by  the  work  of  Perugino  in  Fano  and  the  Sistine  Chapel,  Here, 
however,  Raphael  affirms  his  own  personality  and  incomparable  sure- 
ness  of  design  much  better  than  in  the  altarpiece  of  the  Coronation. 

Raphael  attained  his  full  artistic  maturity  in  the  Madonna  of  Foligno, 
which  was  painted  in  loll,  and  marks  a  great  advance  over  his  Corona- 
tion of  the  Virgin,  both  in  the  modernity  of  its  composition,  the  purity 
of  its  form,  and  the  splendor  of  its  coloring.  This  masterpiece  was 
ordered  by  Sigismondo  Conti  as  an  ex  volo  for  his  escape  from  a  bomb 
which  fell  on  his  house  in  Foligno  during  a  siege.  The  prelate  is  shown 
praying  with  St.  Jerome,  St.  Francis  and  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  the  feet 
of  the  Madonna,  who  is  seated  with  her  Son  in  a  glory  of  angels.  In  the 
distance  is  seen  the  house  of  the  donor,  against  which  a  fiery-tailed 
projectile  has  been  hurled.  In  the  foreground  is  the  celebrated  boy 
bearing  a  tablet.  This  painting  was  taken  to  Paris  in  1797,  together 
with  many  other  precious  canvases,  which  must  have  suffered  much 
during  that  long  journej^  in  ox-wagons  and  by  sea;  for  not  only  small 
tablets  like  the  Mysteries,  but  such  large  tables  as  the  Madonna  of 
Foligno,  had  to  be  transferred  to  canvas — a  very  delicate  operation 
even  to-day,  and  in  those  days  such  a  novelty  that  a  special  report  of  it 
was  written  by  the  restorer  ("Rapporto  dei  cittadini  Guijon  Vincent 
Tannay  e  Berthollet  sul  ristauro  dei  quadri  di  Raffaello  conosciuto 
sotto  il  nome  di  Madonna  di  Foligno,"  Parigi,  piovoso  anno  X). 

The  Transfiguration  has  suffered  also  the  vicissitudes  of  a  great 
number  of  the  pictures  in  the  Vatican  collection,  if  to  a  less  extent. 
Thus,  the  picture,  which  is  still  on  wood,  has  become  dulled,  principally 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


217 


The  Transfiguration 
(Raphael) 


218  THE  VATICAN 

on  account  of  the  drying  of  the  colors  resulting  from  the  absorption  of 
the  varnish  into  the  wood.  As  a  consequence,  certain  corrections 
which  the  artist  made  can  be  detected — for  instance,  that  on  the  foot  of 
the  woman,  said  to  be  the  Fornarina,  who,  kneeling,  points  out  to  the 
apostles  the  boy  possessed  by  the  demon — and  we  thus  recognize  the 
infinite  care  and  zeal  bestowed  by  the  master  on  this  painting,  which  he 
wished  to  make  his  greatest,  as  he  felt  it  would  be  his  last  work.  If  the 
table  were  freed  of  the  old  varnish,  and  if  the  coloring  could  display 
again  that  "aria  lucida"  (transpar- 
ent air)  spoken  of  by  Vasari,  even 
though  it  was  then  blackened  on 
account  of  the  "nero  fumo  da 
spampatori"  (soot-black)  used  by 
Raphael,  it  would  be  more  evident 
that  the  work  of  Giulio  Romano, 
who  completed  it  after  the  death 
of  Raphael  on  Good  Friday  in 
1520,  is  almost  negligible,  and 
must  have  been  restricted  to  a  few 
details  of  the  landscape,  particu- 
larly the  flowering  plain  on  which 
the  figures  in  the  foreground 
stand.  A  comparison  of  this  work 
with  the  Madonna  of  Monteluce — 
so  inferior  in  coloring  and  relief 
—  which  has  been  fitly  placed 
beside  the  Transfiguration,  will 
dissipate  the  prejudices  once  felt 
by  even  profound  critics  towards 
the  work  which  was  exhibited 
near  the  dead  body  of  the  Urbi- 
nate  as  a  true  expression  of  his 
mighty  soul. 

Although  Vasari  is  not  favor- 
able to  Raphael  as  a  rule,  and  al- 
though his  judgment  was  warped 
by  exaggerating  the  rivalry  be- 
tween Raphael  and  Michelangelo 
and  their  schools,  no  more  touch- 
ing words  occur  in  his  "Lives" 
than  those  which  he  applies  to  this 
great  work:  "The  most  famous, 


Madonna  and  Child 
{Carlo  Crivelli) 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


219 


Picta 


(Carlo  Crivclli) 

most  beautiful  and  most  divine  work  of  Raphael,"  he  says,  "who  here 
seems  to  have  strained  every  effort  of  his  genius  to  set  forth  all  the 
power  and  wealth  of  art  in  the  face  of  Christ;  and  when  he  had  finished 
it,  as  though  nothing  else  remained  for  him  to  do  in  life,  he  put  down 
his  brush  for  ever  and  death  came  and  called  him." 

The  rich  collection  of  Venetian  paintings  is  shown  in  the  first  room 
to  the  left  of  the  vestibule.  The  earliest  among  them  is  a  polyptych  by 
Antonio  Vivarini;  this  work  is  divided  into  ten  compartments,  in  which 
painting  and  sculpture  contribute  equally  to  the  decorative  splendor. 
In  the  centre  below  is  a  painted  statue  of  St.  Anthony,  Abbot,  seated 
and  in  the  act  of  blessing;  in  the  side  panels  are  Sts.  Christopher,  Bas- 
tianus,  Venantius  and  Vitus.  In  the  upper  portion  of  the  panels  are 
Sts.  Peter,  Jerome,  Paul  and  Benedict,  with  the  bust  of  Christ  in  the 
centre.  Under  the  chair  on  which  St.  Anthony  sits  we  read  the  signa- 
ture: "Antonius  de  Murano  pixit,  1469."  It  was  one  of  the  last  altar- 
pieces  executed  by  Antonio  in  which  he  reproduces  in  the  architecture 
of  the  polyptych  the  archaic  form  of  an  ogival  flourish,  like  that 
which  the  Masegne  Brothers  had  employed  at  Venice  a  century  earlier. 
The  painting  comes  from  the  Church  of  St.  Anthony  at  Pesaro,  and  is 
of  importance  for  the  evidence  which  it  gives  of  the  great  spread  of 
Venetian  art  in  the  centres  of  culture  along  the  Adriatic  coast. 

Near  Vivarini's  w^ork  are  two  admirable  paintings  by  Carlo  Crivelli 
of  the  Marchesian  School— a  characteristic  Pieta,  a  lunette  showing 
Christ,  the  Madonna,  St.  John  and  the  Magdalen,  and  a  Madonna  and 
Child,  dated  1482,  formerly  kept  in  the  Lateran  Gallery.    The  latter 


220 


THE  VATICAN 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY  221 

is  one  of  this  singiUar  master's  latest  and  best  works,  and  is  remarkable 
for  its  deep  sentiment,  its  decorative  splendor,  and  the  vigor  and 
strength  of  its  design.  Near  these  works,  which  are  certainly  authen- 
tic, is  the  ancient  copy  of  Crivelli's  Madonna  and  Child  and  Saints 
(dated  U81),  an  altarpiece  with  five  compartments,  in  which  St.  James 
of  the  Marches  is  represented.  This  copy  was  formerly  preserved  in 
the  Lateran  Museum,  and  is  thought  by  some  to  be  the  work  of  Carlo  di 
Vittore  Crivelli;  the  original  is  in  the  Louvre.  After  the  careful  re- 
search work  of  Gustavo  Frizzoni  (see  "The  Burlington  Magazine," 
February,  1913)  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Pieta  is  by  Carlo  Crivelli. 
It  formed  the  upper  part  of  an  altarpiece  planned  by  Giovanni  Bellini 
for  the  Church  of  St.  Francis  at  Pesaro.  Its  many  restorations,  and  the 
peculiarities  common  among  the  best  pupils  of  Giambellino,  led  many 
to  attribute  to  Bonconsigli  or  Bartolomeo  Montagna  this  monumental 
work,  wdiich  is  dominated  by  the  piteous  tigure  of  Christ,  the  pathetic 
grief  of  the  Magdalen  and  the  virile  sorrow  of  St.  John. 

After  Giambellino,  Venetian  art  of  the  Cinquecento  blossoms  forth 
in  all  its  splendor.  The  famous  table  by  Titian,  the  Madonna  of  St. 
Nicholas  dei  Frari,  finished  in  1523,  awakens  to-day  no  less  admiration 
than  it  did  at  Venice  in  the  Cinquecento  because  of  the  wonder  and 
richness  of  its  coloring  and  the  nobility  of  its  composition.  In  a  sky  of 
marvellous  lucidity  the  Madonna  and  her  Son,  between  two  angels 
bearing  garlands  of  flowers,  hang  from  the  clouds  over  a  group  of  six 
saints  near  a  ruined  exedra.  The  solemn  dignity  of  St.  Nicholas, 
garbed  in  rich  episcopal  dress,  the  gentleness  of  St.  Catherine,  and  the 
virile  figure  of  St.  Sebastian  in  this  picture  are  well  known  to  art  lovers. 
The  painting,  however,  has  been  somewhat  damaged  and  restored,  and 
the  upper  portion  was  also  cut  so  that  it  might  face  the  Transfiguration 
in  the  Old  Picture  Gallery.  Among  the  figures  most  damaged  is  that 
of  St.  Sebastian,  which  nevertheless  seems  fiesh  and  blood  rather  than 

paint. 

Titian's  Portrait  of  a  Doge  is  another  example  of  his  masterly  sim- 
plicity, but  it  has  unfortunately  suffered  greatly  from  many  restora- 
tions.' Paris  Bordone's  St.  George  Slaying  the  Dragon,  painted  against 
a  fresh  landscape,  brings  out  in  a  vivid  manner  the  genial  fantasy  of 
Venetian  art;  but  the  painting  has  suffered  at  the  restorer's  hands,  as 
has  also  that  of  Bonifazio  Veronese,  the  Virgin  and  Child  with  Joseph, 
St.  Zechariah,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  St.  Elizabeth  offering  a  basket 
of  fruit.  This  last  work  is  distinguished  by  the  artist's  characteristic 
fancy  and  w^ealth  of  coloring.  Worthy  of  note  here  also  is  a  large 
painting  by  Sebastiano  del  Piombo,  showing  against  a  background  of 
architectural  detail  and  landscape  St.  Bernard  crushing  a  chained 


222 


THE  VATICAN 


large 
great 


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Detail  from  the  Last  Communion  of  St.  Jerome 
(Domenichino) 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY  223 

demon.  The  painting  dates  from 
the  artist's  Roman  period,  and  is 
in  a  bad  state  of  preservation. 

The  influence  of  the  Papacy  on 
the  art  of  the  Seicento  was  enor- 
mous, and  during  that  period 
Rome  became  the  centre  of  the 
civilized  world.  Hence  it  is  natu- 
ral that  we  should  find  a 
number  of  works  by  the 
painters  of  this  period  in  the  sixth 
hall  of  the  Gallery.  Among  these 
works  some  possess  so  high  a 
value  that  one  can  explain  why 
the  Seicento  has  been  depreciated 
in  the  past  only  by  referring  to  the 
tyranny  of  fashion,  from  which 
even  the  greatest  works  of  art  can- 
not escape.  The  dominating  pic- 
ture in  this  hall  is  Caravaggio's 
Deposition,  a  work  of  sculptured 
solemnity  in  which  the  ideals  and  spirituality  of  the  preceding  epoch 
are  sacrificed  for  a  stern  realism  and  a  rude  sincerity  based  upon  direct 
observation.  The  large  picture  itself,  in  which  we  see  Nicodemus  and 
John,  followed  by  the  Holy  Women,  carrying  the  dead  Christ  to  the 
tomb,  embodies  all  the  canons  of  modern  painting  and  proclaims  the 
new  gospel  of  Caravaggio  in  opposition  to  the  tradition  of  Caracci, 
whither  painting  had  taken  refuge  in  the  strife  between  the  school  of 
the  spirit  and  the  school  of  the  world. 

Very  rightly  this  monumental  work  has  been  offset  by  Domeni- 
chino's  Last  Communion  of  St.  Jerome,  a  work  which  combines  the 
concepts  of  the  eclectic  school  of  Rologna.  This  glorious  work,  which 
depicts  with  touching  efficacy  the  tottering  old  man  assisted  by  his 
friends,  while  a  group  of  angels  hover  against  a  charming  landscape, 
seems  to  symbolize  the  eternal  youth  of  the  spirit  freed  from  the  tram- 
mels of  the  flesh.  Towards  either  of  these  poles,  Caravaggio's  realism 
and  Domenichino's  eclecticism,  veer  all  the  greatest  artists  of  the  Sei- 
cento. The  four  paintings  of  II  Guercino  (Giovanni  Barbieri)  which 
are  exhibited  in  this  room  serve  as  an  index  to  the  worth  of  this  painter. 
These  are  entitled  the  Incredulity  of  St.  Thomas,  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
Mary  Magdalen,  and  St.  Margaret  of  Cortona.  The  influence  of  Cara- 
vaggio, still  felt  in  the  painting  of  the  Incredulity  of  St.  Thomas,  dis- 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Lasl  Cmiiuiunion  of  St.  Jerome 
(Domenichino) 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


225 


appears  in  the  Mag- 
dalen, which  re- 
mains one  of  II 
Guercino's  greatest 
works,  even  though 
it  has  been  restored 
by  Camuccini. 

Guido  Reni,  Cara- 
vaggio's  imitator  in 
the  Martyrdom  of 
St.  Peter,  veers  to- 
wards the  Caracci 
method  in  the  Ma- 
donna in  Glory  with 
St.  Thomas  and  St. 
Jerome,  painted  for 
the  Cathedral  of  Pe- 
saro.  Sassoferrato's 
Madonna  and  Child, 
with  a  glory  of  cher- 
ubim, and  his  Por- 
trait of  a  Cardinal 
are  faithful  to  the 
Caracci  influence 
and  to  the  Bolognese 
School,  the  soft 
graces  of  which  he 
accentuates.  The 
spirit  of  the  Seicento 
and  its  hunger  for  new  forms  are  expressed  with  rare  efficacy  by 
Ribera  in  his  famous  Martyrdom  of  St.  Laurence,  a  work  probably 
dating  from  the  old  Spanish  artist's  last  period,  if  we  are  to  believe  the 
tradition  which  declares  that  the  figure  of  the  old  man,  seen  in  profile 
apart  from  the  scene,  is  a  portrait  of  that  master  himself. 

The  Roman  painter  Andrea  Sacchi  gives  us  a  completely  different 
aspect  of  the  art  of  that  period,  and  acts  as  the  herald  of  the  Settecento. 
A  new  elegance  of  color  and  technique  is  evident  in  his  Miracle  of  St. 
Gregory  the  Great,  wherein  the  saint  is  seen  causing  blood  to  flow  from 
a  corporal  on  an  altar  in  the  presence  of  a  kneeling  old  man  and  some 
soldiers.  His  Vision  of  St.  Romuald  shows  the  founder  of  the  Camal- 
dolese  monks,  seated  at  the  foot  of  an  aged  tree,  relating  to  his  monks 
his  vision  or  dream  of  the  mvstical  ladder  of  heaven,  which  is  shown 


The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Laurence 
(Ribera) 


226 


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THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY 


227 


The  Espousals  of  St.  Catherine 
(Murillo) 

by  the  painter  in  the  background.  The  whole  work  is  characterized 
by  a  simplicity  most  rare  in  the  Barocco  age,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
monotony  of  the  faces  in  the  scene,  it  was  so  highly  valued  that  in  1797, 
when  seized  by  the  French,  it  was  held  to  be  one  of  the  four  great  paint- 
ings in  Rome.  It  had  an  undoubted  influence  on  French  painting  in 
the  eighteenth  century. 

The  paintings  of  Federico  Baroccio  form  a  distinct  group  among  the 
works  of  the  Seicento.  The  recent  celebration  of  the  tercentenary  of 
the  death  of  this  artist,  which  took  place  on  September  30,  1612,  has 
called  more  attention  to  the  exaggerated  sweetness  of  his  palette,  to  his 
skill  in  contrasting  light  and  shade  effects,  derived  from  Correggio, 
and  to  his  marked  and  really  majestic  power  of  design.  Besides  his 
Ecstasy  of  St.  Michelinus  on  seeing  Jerusalem,  and  his  glorious  Annun- 
ciation painted  for  Duke  Francesco  Maria  d'Urbino,  both  of  which 
were  in  the  Old  Gallery,  we  have  to-day  one  of  Baroccio's  most  beauti- 
ful works,  which  was  thought  to  be  lost  and  was  previously  known 


228  THE  VATICAN 

only  from  copies  and  engravings.  This  work,  entitled  A  Rest  during 
the  Flight  into  Egypt,  was  painted  in  1573  for  Simonetto  Anastagi  of 
Perugia,  who  gave  it  to  the  Jesuits;  it  found  its  way  to  Rome  in  the 
time  of  Clement  XII,  but  was  then  lost  sight  of  until  discovered  by 
d'Achiardi  in  the  Private  Apartments  of  the  Vatican  in  1909.  In  a 
landscape  gilded  by  the  setting  sun,  the  Virgin  is  seated  at  a  spring 
taking  water  in  a  bowl,  while  St.  Joseph  is  seen  plucking  fruit  from 
a  cherry  tree  for  the  Infant  Jesus.  In  this  scene  Baroccio  gives  his 
predilection  towards  naturalistic  observation  free  reign;  as  a  conse- 
quence, the  character  of  the  sacred  scene  takes  on  a  domestic  charm, 
the  artist's  technique  is  not  so  excessively  sweet  as  usual,  and  his  color- 
ing loses  its  conventional  virtuosity.  Besides  this  fortunate  discovery, 
the  New  Gallery  has  been  enriched  with  a  canvas  showing  Peter  Deny- 
ing Christ  before  the  Handmaiden.  This  has  been  attributed  to  Cara- 
vaggio.  There  is,  moreover,  a  Holy  Family  bj^  Carlo  Maratta,  whose 
name  could  not  be  absent  from  such  a  complete  assemblage  of  Roman 
artists  of  the  Seicento. 

The  New  Gallery  has  a  room  given  over  to  the  works  of  foreign 
artists.  While  few  in  number,  these  works  possess,  besides  their  in- 
trinsic value,  an  additional  importance  here  for  the  study  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  religious  painting  in  foreign  schools.  Many  of  them  show 
such  direct  dependence  on  Italian  art  of  the  Seicento  that  they  might 
well  be  hung  with  the  works  of  the  Seicento  artists  in  the  room  we  have 
just  described.  For  instance,  Valentin,  a  Frenchman,  in  his  Martyr- 
dom of  Sts.  Processus  and  Martinianus,  has  all  the  characteristics  of 
Caravaggio.  While  retaining  all  his  own  peculiar  individuality,  Nico- 
las Poussin  shows  the  influence  of  Domenichino,  and  especially  of 
Sacchi,  in  his  Martyrdom  of  St.  Erasmus,  the  only  work  which  he 
signed:  "Nicholaus  Pusin  fecit."  There  is,  however,  no  lack  of  works 
more  truly  expressive  of  foreign  art.  The  Spanish  School  has  an 
authentic  masterpiece  in  Murillo's  Espousals  of  St.  Catherine,  which 
shows  the  saint  bending  in  intense  rapture  before  her  mystic  Spouse. 
The  German  School  has  a  Pieta  by  Lucas  Cranach  the  Elder,  a  painting 
previously  kept  in  the  Private  Apartments  of  the  Vatican.  Thence 
were  also  transferred  to  the  Picture  Gallery  the  paintings  of  the  Flem- 
ish School  by  the  famous  painter  of  flowers,  Daniel  Seghers.  In  one 
of  these,  showing  the  figure  of  St.  Ignatius,  painted  after  the  manner 
of  Rubens,  surrounded  by  a  crown  of  flowers  held  by  two  angels,  we 
may  read  the  initials  "D.  S."  The  most  attractive  painting  in  the  room 
is  the  large  portrait  of  George  IV  of  England  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence, 
a  splendid  symphony  in  gray  tones  and  a  work  at  once  of  great  intrin- 
sic value  and  of  remarkable  importance  in  the  history  of  modern  paint- 


THE  NEW  PICTURE  GALLERY  229 

ing.    Consequentl3%  in  the  writer's  opinion  at  least,  this  work  is  out 
of  place  in  a  collection  which  does  not  extend  beyond  the  Seicento. 

This  is  but  a  brief  and  hasty  survey  of  the  most  famous  works  in 
this  Gallery,  but  it  will  serve  to  show  that  the  New  Gallery  is  among 
the  most  famous  of  the  world,  not  for  the  number,  but  for  the  intrinsic 
worth  of  its  paintings.  The  storerooms  annexed  to  the  Gallery  hold 
many  other  works  which,  while  they  might  figure  properly  in  other 
public  galleries,  have  been  rightly  excluded  from  this  carefully  chosen 
collection  of  highly  valuable  works.  For  instance,  there  are  a  Basaiti, 
a  Garofalo,  a  Sassoferrato  and  many  Palmezzanos.  Only  a  few  of  the 
seven  paintings  from  the  Papal  palace  at  Castel  Gandolfo,  containing 
realistic  episodes  expressive  of  the  Seven  Sacraments,  are  worthy  of 
being  exposed  in  the  Room  of  the  Seicento  as  a  singular  indication  of 
the  artistic  currents  of  the  time;  these  are  the  work  of  that  most  orig- 
inal artist,  Antonio  Maria  Crespi  Bolognese  (called  Lo  Spagnolo). 
Furthermore,  there  are  many  gems  scattered  throughout  the  Vatican, 
which,  if  added  to  this  collection,  would  increase  its  already  great  artis- 
tic and  esthetic  value.  Thus  Melozzo's  famous  fresco  might  very  fittingly 
be  surrounded  with  the  eleven  fragments  of  his  Ascension,  painted  for 
the  Church  of  the  Apostles,  including  those  radiant  figures  of  the  angel 
musicians  which  constitute  a  revelation  of  beauty  never  surpassed. 
These  are  now  badly  hung  in  the  Sacristy  of  St.  Peter's,  where  the  pub- 
lic seldom  sees  them.  There  is  also  Giotto's  famous  triptych,  known 
as  the  Ciborium  of  Cardinal  Stefaneschi,  an  ingenuously  profound 
expression  of  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  master,  and  in  the  highest 
degree  representative  of  his  work.  The  present  writer  expects  to  see 
this  added  to  the  Picture  Gallery.  A  further  source  of  increase  will  be 
supplied  by  the  restoration  of  fragmentary  works.  As  in  all  other 
important  galleries,  the  canvases  and  tables  which  need  care  and 
retouching  are  many.  The  artistic  world,  however,  may  feel  confident 
that  the  authorities  will  neglect  no  measures  necessary  for  the  proper 
preservation  of  the  precious  treasures  entrusted  to  their  safe-keeping. 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 

^'^"'^^'^^''^^N  his  "Life  of  Raphael"  Vasari  says:  "Pope  Leo  X, 
wishing  to  have  most  rich  tapestries  made  of  gold 
and  silk,  got  Raphael  himself  to  paint  the  colored  car- 
toons of  the  right  shape  and  size.  These  were  sent 
to  Flanders  to  be  woven,  and,  when  finished,  the  tap- 
estries came  to  Rome."  There  were  ten  of  these  tap- 
l^w^^^^^^^  estries,  depicting  scenes  from  the  lives  of  Sts.  Peter 
^r.        '  *  J  and  Paul  (mostly  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles),  and 

they  completed  the  decorations  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  which  already 
had  on  its  walls  scenes  from  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Gospels. 
The  subjects  chosen  for  the  new  tapestries  were  the  Miraculous 
Draught  of  Fishes,  the  Giving  of  the  Keys,  the  Healing  of  the  Lame 
Man,  the  Death  of  Ananias,  the  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen,  the  Conversion 
of  St.  Paul,  Elymas  Stricken  with  Blindness,  the  Sacrifice  of  Lystra, 
St.  Paul  in  Prison,  and  St.  Paul  before  the  Areopagus.  Including  the 
friezes,  they  measured  about  4.80  metres  deep  by  42  metres  long,  and 
were  to  be  hung  on  the  walls  below  the  frescoes  painted  by  the  artists 
of  the  Quattrocento,  where  the  imitation  curtains  are  now  painted — 
four  on  the  left  wall,  two  on  the  end  wall,  where  the  Last  Judgment  is, 
and  four  on  the  right  wall.  One  of  the  tapestries  for  the  right  wall, 
St.  Paul  in  Prison,  was  made  narrower  than  the  others,  owing  to  the 
limited  space  between  the  balustrade  and  the  choir.  It  was  presumably 
on  the  right  side  that  all  the  St.  Paul  tapestries  were  placed,  while  those 
dealing  with  St.  Peter  ran  along  the  opposite  wall.  The  vertical  friezes 
were  placed  between  the  tapestries  in  continuation  of  the  pilasters 
which  separated  the  frescoes  above;  friezes  were  also  added  at  the 
ends  of  the  walls  so  that  each  tapestry  was  bounded  by  two  lateral 
friezes.  In  view  of  the  narrowness  of  the  space,  an  exception  to  the 
latter  rule  was  made  in  the  case  of  the  tapestry  showing  St.  Paul  in 
prison.  The  two  tapestries  on  the  back  wall  were  most  probably  sepa- 
rated from  each  other,  and  there  were  thus  two  lateral  friezes  for  each 
tapestry.    The  tapestries  had  no  horizontal  frieze  above  them. 

The  idea  of  decorating  with  tapestries  the  lower  part  of  the  walls 
of  the  Sistine  did  not  originate  with  Leo  X.  It  is  fairly  certain  that  his 
service  was  simply  to  replace  old  tapestries  which  were  in  poor  con- 

C  231  1 


232 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Miraculous  Draught  (it  I'lsli 


dition,  and  which  were  no  longer  in  harmony  with  the  taste  of  the  age, 
with  more  appropriate  works.  In  the  inventory  of  Papal  effects  before 
Leo's  time  mention  is  indeed  made  of  a  number  of  pieces  of  woven 
draperies,  depicting  scenes  of  the  Passion.  The  designing  and  weaving 
of  the  new  tapestries  were  completed  in  a  very  few  years.  Begun  about 
1515,  the  tapestries  were  ready  in  1519.  As  may  be  seen,  the  work  was 
somewhat  hastily  performed,  and  to  this  hastiness  may  be  referred  the 
defects  shown  by  the  tapestries,  especially  in  details.  The  cartoons 
were  prepared  under  the  direction  of  Raphael  himself,  but  were  not 
entirely  from  his  hand.  He  drew,  perhaps,  the  sketches  for  the  general 
composition  and  for  some  figures,  but  many  of  the  sketches  were  left 
to  his  pupils  to  enlarge.  Vasari  himself  confirms  this  hypothesis  in 
his  "Life  of  Giovanni  Francesco  Penni"  (II  Fattore),  where  he  says 
that  this  painter  "was  of  great  help  to  Raphael  in  painting  a  large  part 
of  the  cartoons  for  the  tapestries  of  the  Pope's  chapel,  and  especially 
for  the  friezes." 

The  weaving  was  entrusted  to  Peter  Van  Aelst  of  Brussels,  under  the 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


233 


l)tt;iil  rmin  lln   I Iiiriz(inl;il  lYieze  of  the  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes 


234 


THE  VATICAN 


Detail  from  the  Lateral  Frieze  of  St.  Paul 
before  the  Areopagus 


Detail  from  the  Lateral  Frieze 
of  "Feed  My  Sheep" 


supervision  of  the  artist  Bernard  Van  Orley,  who  belonged  to  the 
School  of  Raphael.  The  first  seven  were  set  in  their  places  in  the 
Chapel  in  December,  1519.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of  that  month  a 
Roman  correspondent  of  the  famous  Venetian  dilettante,  Marcantonio 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


235 


The  Healing  of  the  Lame  Man 

Michiel,  wrote  as  follows:  "On  Christmas  day  last  the  Pope  displayed 
in  his  Chapel  seven  tapestries  woven  in  the  west.  They  are  considered 
the  most  beautiful  work  of  the  kind  ever  done,  notwithstanding  the 
fame  of  other  tapestries,  such  as  those  in  the  Antechamber  of  Pope 
Julius  II,  or  those  of  the  Marchese  of  Mantua  from  designs  by  Man- 
tegna,  or  those  of  Kings  Alfonso  and  Federico  of  Naples.  The  designer 
is  Raphael  of  Urbino,  an  excellent  painter  who  has  received  from  the 
Pope  one  hundred  ducats  for  each  design.  Silk  and  gold  have  been 
used  in  great  quantities.  The  cost  of  the  weaving  was  one  thousand 
five  hundred  ducats  for  each  tapestry,  silk  and  all  included;  so  that  the 
total  cost  was,  as  the  Pope  said,  one  thousand  six  hundred  ducats  each, 
though  gossip  has  it  here  that  they  cost  two  thousand  ducats  each." 
This  means  that,  in  our  modern  money,  the  tapestries  cost  $150,000, 
and  Raphael  was  paid  about  $1,000  for  each  design. 

Small-sized  copies  of  the  cartoons  of  these  tapestries  were  made  in 
Rome  immediately  after  the  completion  of  the  originals,  since  Agos- 
tino  Veneziano  reproduces  the  Death  of  Ananias  in  a  cut  dated  1518. 
The  cartoons  were  then  sent  to  Rrussels  to  be  copied,  and  were  cut  in 


236 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Death  of  Ananias 

strips  for  the  various  weavers.  Seven  of  them  remained  in  the  work- 
shop of  Peter  Van  Aelst  and  his  successors  at  Brussels  tliroughout  the 
sixteenth  century.  Only  the  Conversion  of  St.  Paul  was  sent  back  to 
Rome  in  the  days  of  Pope  Leo  X,  and  between  1521  and  1528  we  tind 
it  mentioned  in  the  Grimani  Collection.  Then  we  lose  sight  of  it.  Two 
others  were  soon  lost.  In  Brussels,  however,  copies  must  have  been 
made,  and  from  these  were  woven  the  many  reproductions  now  scat- 
tered among  the  various  collections.  On  the  advice  of  Peter  Paul 
Rubens,  Charles  I  of  England  bought  seven  of  the  originals  as  models 
for  his  weavers,  and  allowed  them  to  be  cut  into  sections.  In  1662  the 
French  ambassador  came  to  an  agreement  with  Charles  II  for  their 
purchase,  as  Louis  XIV  was  then  thinking  of  establishing  the  manu- 
facture of  the  gobelins.  The  English  ministers,  however,  annulled  the 
contract  and  the  cartoons  remained  in  England.  Towards  the  close 
of  that  century  William  III  ordered  William  Cook  to  piece  together  and 
restore  the  fragments,  after  which  they  were  preserved  in  the  Hampton 
Court  Gallery  near  London.  From  there  they  passed  in  1865  to  the 
South  Kensington  Museum,  London,  where  they  may  be  seen  to-day. 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


237 


Moiling   i>I    M.    Mcpiicil 


The  subjects  are:  the  Miraculous 
Draught  of  Fishes,  the  Giving  of 
the  Keys,  the  Healing  of  the  Lame 
Man,  the  Death  of  Ananias,  the  Sac- 
rifice of  Lystra,  Elymas  Stricken 
with  Blindness,  and  St.  Paul  before 
the  Areopagus. 

The  fate  of  the  tapestries  them- 
selves was  no  less  stormy.  In  1521 
they  were  in  the  Sistine  Chapel;  in 
1527  they  were  removed  to  the 
Vatican  Palace;  in  that  year  some 
of  them  were  stolen;  in  1553  the 
Connetable  de  Montmorency  had 
two  pieces  returned  to  Pope  Julius 
III.  In  1798  they  were  again  taken 
from  the  Vatican,  but  Pius  VII 
succeeded  in  having  them  re- 
turned. The  lower  part  of  the  Ely 
mas  tapestry  was  cut  off  and 
burned  in  1527  to  melt  the  gold  of  the  texture.  Fortunately,  the  yield 
was  not  enough  to  tempt  the  vandals  to  treat  the  remainder  in  like 
fashion.  A  great  portion  of  the  above  information  may  be  read  in  the 
inscriptions  on  the  tapestries  and  in  the  Gallery. 

Vasari  gives  his  opinion  of  the  tapestries  in  his  "Life  of  Raphael": 
"The  work  was  so  wonderfully  done  that  it  was  a  marvel  to  the  be- 
holder how  the  weaver  could  possibly  have  succeeded  with  his  thread 
in  giving  softness  to  the  cheek  and  gloss  to  the  hair  and  beard  so  faith- 
fully. It  is  a  miracle  rather  than  the  work  of  man;  water,  animals,  and 
houses  are  so  truly  reproduced  that  the  whole  seems  the  work  rather 
of  a  painter  than  of  a  weaver."  This  eulogy  of  the  great  critic  of  the 
Renaissance  is  intended  exclusively  for  the  professional  merits  of  the 
work  of  Van  Aelst,  who  then  initiated  a  new  textile  taste  which  was  to 
secure  universal  allegiance.  Thanks  to  this  new  method,  the  weaver's 
work  became  much  more  valuable,  since  it  resembled  so  closely  a  real 
painting  as  to  give  the  spectator  the  delusion  of  having  before  his  eyes, 
not  a  woven  texture,  but  a  painted  canvas. 

This  work  of  Van  Aelst,  however,  shows  a  distinct  stiffness  of  design 
and  a  certain  discord  of  coloring,  strong  tones  appearing  isolated  in  a 
field  of  mezzotones  and  color  gradations.  Despite  these  defects,  how- 
ever, they  must  have  evoked  universal  admiration  when  they  first 
appeared  on  account  of  their  great  novelty,  since  they  foretold  a  veri- 


288 


THE  VATICAN 


Conversion  of  St.  Paul 


table  revolution  in  the  technique  of  tapestry.  The  new  method  was 
nothing  more  or  less  than  the  combining  of  the  breadth  and  majesty  of 
Italian  fresco-work  with  the  illustrative  and  decorative  analysis  of 
Flemish  painting.  If  the  work  did  not  completely  succeed,  this  was 
to  be  attributed  to  the  variety  of  the  hands  which  were  engaged  on  it. 
Although  executed  by  Raphael  with  the  extensive  collaboration  of  his 
pupils,  the  cartoons  preserve  a  unity  of  pictorial  vision  and  a  fineness 
of  execution  that  quite  disappear  in  the  tapestries.  No  matter  how 
the  Italian  School  may  have  influenced  their  development,  and  no 
matter  how  much  they  were  bound  by  their  Italian  models.  Van  Orley, 
who  directed  the  work,  and  Van  Aelst,  who  executed  it,  could  not  quite 
rid  themselves  of  their  Northern  temperament  and  their  Flemish  taste. 
An  adaptation  of  himself  to  his  models  was  the  less  to  be  expected  in 
the  case  of  Van  Aelst,  whose  methods  had  become  crystallized  owing 
to  his  long  years  of  work  and  countless  repetitions. 

Another  important  new  feature  was  the  importance  given  for  the 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


239 


first  time  to  the  friezes.  Hitherto  all  such  woven  tapestries  were  set 
in  narrow  frames  of  flowers  or  geometric  ornaments.  Raphael,  how- 
ever, employed  vertical  friezes  similar  to  the  parietal  decorations  of 
pilasters  and  horizontal  friezes  below  similar  to  bas-reliefs.  Each 
tapestry  thus  assumed  the  aspect  and  served  the  function  of  a  frieze 
of  the  Renaissance,  and  the  similarity  extended  even  to  the  framing. 
The  vertical  friezes  contain  decorative  and  allegorical  figures,  but  the 
horizontal  ones  are  filled  with  scenes  from  the  life  of  Cardinal  Gio- 
vanni de'  Medici,  who  was  later  Pope  Leo  X. 

Many  copies  of  the  tapestries  were  made.  Copies  of  seven  of  them 
were  made  in  1534  for  Francis  I  of  France,  but  they  were  burned  in 
1797.  Henry  VIII  owned  a  superb  duplicate  copy,  which  was  acquired 
by  the  Spanish  Ambassador  in  London  during  the  English  Revolution 


Klyinas  Stricken  with  Blindness 

of  1649.  One  of  the  most  precious  replicas  is  that  now  in  Vienna;  this 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Dukes  of  Mantua,  and  was  made  at  the  com- 
mission of  Ercole  Gonzaga,  who  died  in  1563.  The  Imperial  Collection 
has  another  set  of  nine,  and  the  Spanish  Crown  owns  a  similar  set; 
mention  of  the  last-named  set  is  made  in  the  inventories  of  Philip  II 
(1527-1598). 

The  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes  depicts  an  event  related  to  St. 
Luke's  Gospel  (v,  4  sqq.).  The  lateral  friezescontainornamentsand deco- 
rative figures;  the  horizontal  frieze  shows  Cardinal  Giovanni  de'  Medici 
entering  Rome  and  being  received  by  the  Pope.  The  fishing  scene  is 
one  of  Raphael's  finest  creations,  and  the  most  successful  of  the  tapes- 
tries. The  perspective  shows  the  defects  of  the  time;  the  plane  of  the 
water  is  not  horizontal,  but  inclined  towards  the  horizon,  just  as  though 
seen  from  above,  while  the  figures  are  shown  on  the  level  of  our  eyes. 
Moreover,  the  houses,  figures,  and  vegetation  far  away  have  the  geo- 
metric proportion  of  great  distance,  but  preserve  the  clearness  of  out- 
line of  objects  in  the  foreground.  These,  however,  are  scientific  defects 


240  THE  VATICAN 

which  would  not  detract  anything  from  the  esthetic  effect  if  it  were 
not  for  the  real  artistic  discord:  for  example,  the  deep  red  in  some  of 
the  costumes  which  forms  too  violent  a  contrast  to  the  general  mezzo- 
tints of  the  scenery,  the  faulty  modulation  of  the  strong  tints  of  the 
shore,  several  instances  of  harshness  in  the  outlines  and  in  the  folds 


The  Sacrifice  of  Lystra 

of  the  dresses,  and  the  unpleasant  crudity  of  the  various  tints  of  the 
dresses.  These  defects  in  details,  however,  do  not  prevent  us  from  en- 
joying fully  the  sublime  and  serene  scene  created  by  the  Urbinate.  All 
the  illustrative  skill  of  Raphael  in  the  interpretation  of  physical  beauty 
and  of  the  human  mind  is  here  requisitioned.  Admirable  are  the 
beautiful  bodies  of  the  youths  who  draw  in  the  nets,  and  the  noble 
countenances  of  the  two  apostles  in  the  presence  of  Christ,  which  so 
clearly  express  their  marvel  and  worship  at  what  He  has  done.  The 
fishes  and  the  birds  on  the  bank  are  drawn  with  astonishing  truth;  the 
representation  of  the  water  and  the  illusion  of  the  reflection  are  won- 
derful. But  more  admirable  still  is  the  expression  of  the  purely  artistic 
elements — for  example,  in  the  linear  rhythm  which  moves  with  con- 
tinuous and  soft  curves  in  the  outlines  of  the  figures  and  in  the  folds 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


241 


of  the  garments,  and  lulls  our 
souls  to  rest  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  sweet  and  endless  undula- 
tion of  that  tranquil  sea.  A  clear 
sense  of  majestic  serenity  per- 
vades us  as  we  gaze  on  that  placid 
and  transparent  expanse  of  water, 
which  deepens  obliquely  in  the 
scene,  and  loses  itself  in  the  dis- 
tance on  the  right.  No  less  exqui- 
site are  the  linear  arabesques  and 
the  delicacies  of  color  of  the  verti- 
cal friezes.  More  sonorous  is  the 
slightly  gilt  yellow  monochrome 
which  characterizes  the  lower 
frieze,  reproducing  the  solidity 
and  plasticity  of  a  very  clear  com- 
position in  bas-relief. 

The  Giving  of  the  Keys,  or 
"Feed  My  Sheep,"  is  founded  on 
an  incident  in  St.  John's  Gospel 
(xxi,  15-17).  Three  fragments  of 
the  original  cartoon  are  preserved 
in  the  Chantilly  Museum,  and 
show  the  heads  of  eight  of  the 
apostles.  On  the  lateral  frieze  to 
the  left  are  shown  the  Four  Sea- 
sons, and  on  the  right  the  Parcse 
(Fates).  The  frieze  shows  the 
flight  of  Pietro  and  Giuliano  de' 
Medici  from  Florence  in  1494.  The 
scene  of  the  Giving  of  the  Kej's  is 
inspired  by  the  Perugino  fresco  in 
the  Sistine  on  the  same  subject;  of 
particularly  beautiful  coloring  is 
the  figure  of  Christ,  with  its  pearl- 
like tones.  In  the  other  figures  the 
work  of  the  master  is  much  al- 
tered by  the  interpretation  of  his 
pupils  and  of  the  weavers. 

The  Healing  of  the  Lame  Man 
shows  the  miracle  worked  by  St. 


St.   Paul    in    Prison, 
or  the  Earthquake 


242  THE  VATICAN 

Peter  at  the  door  of  the  Temple,  as  related  in  Acts  iii,  1-11.  In  the  hori- 
zontal frieze  we  see  the  capture  of  Cardinal  Giuliano  de'  Medici  after 
the  Battle  of  Ravenna  and  his  subsequent  escape.  The  figure  of  the 
lame  man  and  the  two  chief  female  figures  in  this  scene  deserve  particu- 
lar attention.    The  Death  of  Ananias  represents  a  miracle  which  is  re- 


st. Paul  before  the  Areopagus 

lated  in  Acts  v,  1-11.  The  theological  virtues  are  shown  in  the  vertical 
friezes,  and  on  the  horizontal  frieze  we  see  the  Gonfaloniere  Ridolfi  ad- 
dressing the  Florentines,  and  the  return  of  Cardinal  de'  Medici  to 
Florence  in  1512.  Particularly  fine  are  the  figures  of  Ananias  and  the 
young  man  on  the  right.  The  attitude  of  St.  Peter  recalls  the  Christ  in 
the  Tribute  fresco  by  Masaccio  in  the  Carmine  Church  at  Florence. 

The  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen  is  a  scene  from  Acts  vii,  1-59.  The  car- 
toon of  this  picture  has  been  lost  since  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the 
work  bears  abundant  traces  of  the  collaboration  of  Raphael's  pupils, 
particularly  of  Giulio  Romano.  The  horizontal  frieze  shows  the  entry 
of  Cardinal  de'  Medici  into  Florence  in  1492  as  Papal  legate. 

The  Conversion  of  St.  Paul  is  founded  on  Acts  ix,  1-9.    The  cartoon 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


243 


Tlic  Adulation  of  the  Magi 


The  Adoration  of  tlie  Shepherds 


244  THE  VATICAN 

of  this  tapestry  has  been  lost.  The 
horizontal  frieze  shows  the  sack 
of  Prato  in  1512,  and  the  protec- 
tion extended  to  its  inhabitants  by 
Cardinal  de'  Medici.  In  a  fresco 
on  the  same  snbject  in  the  Pauline 
Chapel,  Michelangelo  has  copied 
the  terrified  horse  of  the  falling 
rider. 

Elymas  Stricken  with  Blindness, 
or  the  Conversion  of  the  Procon- 
sul Sergius  Paulus,  is  based  on  an 
incidenttold  in  Acts  xiii,  6-12.  The 
tirst  suggestion  of  the  attitude  of 
St.  Paul  is  to  be  traced  to  fres- 
coes by  Masaccio  in  the  Carmine 
Church  at  Florence.  This  tapestry 
was  mutilated  during  the  sack  of 
Rome  in  1527,  and  the  lower  part 
is  missing.  The  figure  of  Elymas 
is  one  of  the  most  expressive  Ra- 
phael ever  created. 

The  Sacrifice  of  Lystra  illus- 
trates an  event  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul,  recorded  in  Acts  xiv,  8-17.  The 
vertical  friezes  are  both  grottesche;  in  the  horizontal  frieze  we  see  St. 
John  leaving  Antioch  and  St.  Paul  among  the  faithful  in  a  synagogue. 
For  this  scene  Raphael  utilized  a  bas-relief  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Uffizi 
representing  the  offering  of  sacrifices. 

St.  Paul  in  Prison,  or  the  Earthquake,  is  a  scene  from  Acts  xvi,  20-40. 
Its  narrow  shape  is  due  to  the  demands  of  wall  space.  The  cartoon  is 
lost.  To  show  that  Giulio  Romano  performed  a  large  portion  of  the 
work,  we  need  only  compare  this  tapestry  with  the  Gigantomachia 
fresco  in  the  Palazzo  del  Te  of  Mantua.  The  horizontal  frieze  com- 
pletes the  scene  of  the  sack  of  Prato. 

St.  Paul  before  the  Areopagus  is  a  scene  from  Acts  xvii,  19-34.  In  the 
left  vertical  frieze  are  represented  Fame  and  Hercules  holding  a  globe; 
in  the  right  are  arabesques.  The  horizontal  frieze  contains  several  inci- 
dents from  the  life  of  St.  Paul.  The  tirst-mentioned  frieze  was  muti- 
lated during  the  sack  of  Rome  in  1527,  but  the  missing  portion  was 
replaced  in  1553  by  the  angel  holding  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Conne- 
table  de  Montmorency  who  gave  back  the  tapestry  to  Julius  III  and  an 
inscription  added  recording  the  fact.    The  angel  is  by  a  French  artist. 


The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


245 


The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents 


The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents 


The  Apparition  of  Christ  to  the  Magdalen 


The  Supper  at  Emmaus 


246 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Resurrection 


The  Presentation  in  the   leinple 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES 


247 


The  Ascension 


The  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost 


The  Coronation  does  not  belong  to  the  set  of  the  scenes  from  the  Acts, 
which  are  called  the  Series  of  the  Old  School.  It  was  woven  in  Flanders 
and  given  to  Paul  III  by  Cardinal  Everard  de  Marck  of  Liege  in  1537 
after  the  death  of  both  Leo  X  and  Raphael.  There  is  at  Oxford  a  de- 
sign by  Raphael  treating  this  subject  in  a  notably  different  way.  In  the 
tapestry  the  lower  part  has  been  almost  entirely  altered,  the  change 
being  certainly  due  to  some  pupil.  In  the  new  composition  Sts.  Peter 
and  Paul  have  been  replaced  by  Sts.  John  the  Baptist  and  Jerome,  two 
figures  copied  from  the  Disputa  and  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  respec- 
tively; even  the  angels  are  an  addition.  This  tapestry  measures  3.55 
meters  in  height  by  2.93;  the  friezes  measure  30  centimeters  in  breadth, 
and  are  adorned  with  flowers,  fruits,  birds,  sirens  and  small,  vari- 
ously colored  boy  genii  against  a  gold  background.  The  tapestry 
is  now  in  the  Pope's  private  apartments.  The  scene  shows  Christ  on 
a  throne  crowning  the  Madonna,  who  is  between  two  angels.  Sts.  John 
the  Baptist  and  Jerome  are  on  either  side,  and  in  the  foreground,  at  the 
foot  of  the  throne,  are  two  angels  reading. 

Tapestries  with  Scenes  from  the  Life  of  Christ. — These  are  known 
as  the  Series  of  the  New  School,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  scenes  from 
the  Acts,  which  are  called  the  tapestries  of  the  Old  School.  They  were 
originally  intended  to  decorate  the  Halls  of  the  Consistory,  and  were 
ordered  by  Leo  X,  who  in  1520  commissioned  Peter  Van  Aelst  to  furnish 
within  three  years  a  series  of  tapestries  more  than  five  meters  high 
and  sixty  long.  The  weaver  was  to  receive  3,600  gold  ducats  (about 
$40,000  in  modern  money)  over  and  above  the  cost  of  the  gold  thread, 
which  reached  the  enormous  amount  of  14,000  ducats.  The  work  was 
long  drawn  out.  The  death  of  Leo  X  and  the  indifference  of  Adrian 
VI  towards  the  arts  probably  halted  it.  But  when  Clement  VII  became 
Pope  he  took  up  and  modified  the  contract  with  Van  Aelst.    In  October, 


248 


THE  VATICAN 


1  lie  Three  Virtues 

1524,  he  had  12,000  gold  ducats  paid  to  Van  Aelst  on  account  of 
20,750  gold  ducats  to  be  paid  in  all  for  tapestries  woven  in  gold 
and  silk,  "of  the  same  quality  and  of  the  same  perfection  as  the  his- 
tories of  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul."  The  contract  was  to  be  com- 
pleted in  eighteen  months  after  the  payment  on  account  of  the  12,000 
ducats,  but  it  was  not  until  June  14,  1531,  that  the  tapestries  w^ere 
approved  at  Rome  by  the  artist  Angelo  de  Farfengo  of  Cremona  and 
Johannes  Lengles  of  Calais,  who  declared  that  the  tapestries  of  the 
Nativity  of  Christ  were  "well  and  loyally  wTought,  were  superior  to 
those  of  the  histories  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul,  sent  by  the  same  Van  Aelst 
to  Leo  X,  and  finally  richer  in  gold  and  silk."  The  subjects  were:  the 
Nativity  of  Christ,  the  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds,  the  Adoration  of 
the  Magi,  the  Presentation  in  the  Temple,  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents 
(in  three  pieces),  the  Descent  into  Limbo,  the  Resurrection,  the  Appari- 
tion of  Christ  to  the  Magdalen,  the  Supper  at  Emmaus,  the  Ascension 


THE  GALLERY  OF  TAPESTRIES  249 

and  the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Until  the  end  of  the  Settecento 
they  were  in  the  Vatican,  but  in  1798  they  were  sold  at  auction,  and 
all  found  their  way  to  the  Louvre,  except  the  Descent  into  Limbo,  which 
disappeared  at  this  period.  They  were  brought  back  to  the  Vatican, 
together  with  the  tapestries  of  the  Acts,  and  are  now  in  this  Gallery. 

Francesco  d'Olanda,  a  sixteenth-century  writer,  states  that  the  car- 
toons for  these  tapestries  were  colored  by  Tommaso  Vencidor  of 
Bologna.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Vencidor  did  go  to  Flanders  in  1520,  on 
a  mission  from  Leo  X.  Moreover,  Francesco  mentions  Antonio,  his 
father,  as  having  taken  part  in  the  work.  But  without  further  proof 
it  is  enough  for  one  to  compare  the  tapestries  of  the  Massacre  of  the 
Innocents  and  the  Marcantonio  print  re[)roducing  the  same  subject  to 
realize  the  difference  between  Raphael's  design  and  the  interpretation 
of  it  by  those  who  composed  and  colored  these  cartoons.  Those  who 
designed  these  tapestries,  wliether  they  were  Italian  or  Flemish,  may 
have  used  a  rough  sketch  of  the  subjects  by  Raphael,  but  the  arrange- 
ment, the  composition  and  the  execution  are  all  their  own.  Only  here 
and  there  does  a  figure  preserve  a  touch  which  Raphael  might  have 
accepted  as  his.  The  scene  that  comes  nearest  to  Raphael's  style  is 
the  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  The  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds  is  dis- 
tinct from  the  others,  and  the  tigure  of  the  young  shepherd  with  the 
basket  of  eggs  is  well  worth  noticing.  The  Resurrection  and  the  De- 
scent of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  a  pair  of  compositions  showing  exagger- 
ated agitation  in  the  movements.  Other  groups  with  monumental  fig- 
ures are  found  in  the  Ascension,  the  Presentation  and  the  three  scenes 
of  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents.  Two  of  the  tapestries  show  a  taste 
purely  Flemish,  namely,  the  Apparition  of  Christ  to  the  Magdalen  and 
the  Supper  at  Emmaus,  in  which  there  is  a  better  harmony  of  tints. 
In  the  Apparition  a  vivacity  of  mezzotints  smiles  over  all  the  land- 
scape and  flowers;  the  Supper  at  Flmmaus  glistens  with  the  brightness 
of  the  great  table-cloth,  the  transparency  of  the  glassware  on  the  table 
and  of  the  glasses  in  the  vase  on  the  floor.  The  other  tapestries  are 
characterized  by  a  monotony  of  strong  colors  such  as  red,  turquoise, 
green  and  yellow,  and  violent  crudities  are  seen  in  the  shading  of  the 
tones  in  accordance  with  the  decadent  taste  of  the  Mannerists  of  the 
end  of  the  Cinquecento. 

The  tapestry  of  the  Three  Virtues,  or  the  Lions,  has  long  been  con- 
sidered part  of  this  series  of  the  Life  of  Christ.  Like  the  others,  it  is 
5.11  meters  high,  including  the  friezes,  and  the  lateral  friezes  are  80 
centimeters  broad.  The  arms  of  Pope  Clement  VII  are  seen  above,  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  horizontal  frieze  is  a  falcon  with  the  word  Samper 
(sic),  the  motto  of  the  same  Pope.    The  friezes  of  this  tapestry  are 


250  THE  VATICAN 

richer  than  those  of  any  other  work  of  the  same  school.  The  tapestry 
shows  Religion  seated  in  a  glory  of  light,  with  her  feet  on  the  world 
and  with  Jnstice  and  Charity  on  either  side.  Below,  in  the  foreground 
of  the  broad  landscape,  two  crouching  lions  support  Papal  standards 
—two  keys  surmounted  by  a  baldachin.  The  lions  are  an  allusion  to 
Pope  Leo  X.  The  cartoon  of  this  tapestry  shows  the  hand  of  one  of 
Raphael's  pupils— the  same,  perhaps,  who  designed  the  more  graceful 
figures  throughout  the  series  illustrating  the  Life  of  Christ.  In  the 
landscape  the  Flemish  weaver  has  overloaded  the  original  design  m 
many  instances,  but  the  tonality  of  the  friezes,  a  grayish  mezzotint,  is 
very  fine. 


"^V^  ::"*^- 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 

[he  Egyptian  Museum  was  founded  by  Pope  Gregory 
XVI,  and  opened  in  1839.  It  was  formed  at  consid- 
erable expense  by  uniting  various  collections,  by 
bringing  some  objects  all  the  way  from  Egypt,  and 
by  purchasing  others  from  dealers  in  antiquities. 
^^"•iS^x-  |i  The  various  objects  here  collected  mav  be  grouped 
"  a,  J,  ^^  follows:  (1)  statues  brought  to  Rome  m  the  days 

of  the  Roman  Empire  or  statues  carved  in  Egyptian 
style  and  found  in  the  ruins  of  Hadrian's  Villa  at  Tivoli;  (2)  the  Borgia 
Collection,  made  by  the  learned  Cardinal  Stefano  Borgia  at  Velletri,  the 
greater  part  of  which,  however,  found  its  way  to  the  Museum  of 
Naples;  (3)  Monsignor  Gaddi's  Collection;  (4)  the  De  Palin  Collection, 
made  by  the  Swedish  Minister  to  Turkey,  who  bought  many  rarities  in 
Egypt;  (5)  the  collections  made  by  the  travellers  Silvestro  Guidi  and 
Pietro  Gavazzi  in  the  time  of  Pope  Pius  VII,  and  those  made  by  the  an- 
tiquarians Baseggio  and  Spagna  between  1835  and  1838;  (6)  the  Col- 
lection of  Papyri,  comprising  the  documents  brought  to  Rome  by  the 
Franciscan  missionary  Angelo  da  Pofi  in  1818,  and  others  presented  by 
Belzoni,  the  explorer,  to  Cardinal  Consalvi.  During  the  pontificates  of 
Leo  XIII  and  Pius  X  the  Museum  has  been  enriched  by  many  impor- 
tant gifts,  such  as  those  sent  by  the  Khedive's  government,  by  Fran- 
ciscan missionaries  in  Egypt,  and  by  private  individuals — as,  for 
instance,  Cavaliere  Pelizeus,  the  Spanish  consul  at  Cairo,  and  M.  Emile 
Guimet,  head  of  the  famous  Guimet  Museum  in  Paris. 

From  the  very  start  the  Egyptian  Museum  was  excellently  arranged 
by  Father  Luigi  Ungarelli,  a  Barnabite,  and  one  of  the  first  followers 
of  Champollion  in  Italy.  The  Egyptian  decorations  in  the  Museum  are 
the  work  of  Cavaliere  de  Fabris,  a  sculptor  of  eminence,  who  at  this 
period  was  in  charge  of  the  papal  museums.  A  few  slight  changes  have 
been  since  made  to  make  room  for  manuscripts  subsequently  acquired, 
and  to  provide  for  the  better  display  of  those  already  housed  here.  This 
is  particularly  the  case  in  the  Hemicycle  and  in  the  smaller  rooms,  in 
which  new  cases  have  been  set  up  for  the  smaller  objects,  and  which 
now  accommodate  the  Collection  of  Papyri,  recently  increased  by  the 
papyri  from  the  Library.     The  antiquities  in  the  Egyptian  Museum 

1:2513 


252  THE  VATICAN 

have  been  described  in  special  illustrated  works  by  the  following  Egyp- 
tologists: Ungarelli  (1839);  Wiedemann  (18cS5);  Piehl  (1888);  Ma- 
rucchi  (in  various  works  from  1889  down  to  the  present  time). 

The  rooms  given  over  to  the  Egyptian  Museum  are  on  the  same  floor 
as  the  Pio-Clementino  Museum,  and  were  formerly  occupied  by  the 
Cardinal  Librarian.  There  are  two  entrances :  the  main  entrance,  from 
the  Hall  of  the  Greek  Cross,  near  the  staircase  leading  to  the  Etruscan 
Museum;  the  second,  in  front  of  the  screen  dividing  the  Pio-Clemen- 
tino from  the  Chiaramonti  Museum.  The  various  rooms  have  special 
names,  and  were  catalogued  in  1912  as  follows:  (1)  Hall  of  the  Coffins 
and  Sarcophagi;  (2)  Hall  of  the  Statues;  (3)  Hall  of  the  Naophorus; 
(4)  the  Hemicvcle;  (5)  Hall  of  the  Gods  and  Objects  of  Worship;  (6) 
Funeral  Hall;  (7)  First  Hall  of  the  Papyri;  (8)  Second  Hall  of  the 
Papyri;  (9)  Third  Hall  of  the  Papyri;  (10)  Hall  of  Roman  Imitations. 

Whereas  the  history  of  Greece  and  Rome  is  well  known,  at  least  in 
outline,  by  all  educated  people,  and  every  one  has  a  more  or  less  clear 
idea  of  the  main  personages  and  legends  of  Classical  mythology,  there 
are  very  many  who  have  never  heard,  or  who  have  forgotten  what  they 
heard,  o.f  the  history  and  mythology  of  ancient  Egypt.  Hence  it  may 
not  be  unnecessary  to  preface  to  the  description  of  this  Museum  a  brief 
survey  of  ancient  Egyptian  civilization,  so  as  to  allow  the  general 
reader  to  grasp  more  clearly  the  importance  of  the  antiquities  in  the 
collection. 

Outline  of  Ancient  Egyptian  History. — It  may  be  said  with  truth 
that  Egyptian  civilization  is  the  oldest  in  the  world,  if  we  speak  of 
civilizations  of  which  important  monuments  have  come  down  to  us, 
and  of  peoples  about  whose  history  we  possess  accurate  information. 
For,  though  of  course  it  is  certain  that,  in  the  order  of  chronology,  the 
civilization  of  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  Chaldea  dates  farther  back 
than  that  of  the  Egyptians,  yet  we  know  very  little  indeed  about  the 
early  Chaldeans.  Concerning  Egypt  and  its  history,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  have  important  historical  monuments  from  the  remotest  periods, 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  its  first  beginnings  date  back  to  about  5000  b.c, 
if  we  accept  that  year  as  the  approximate  date  of  the  foundation  of  the 
kingdom  of  Egypt  under  Pharaoh  Menes  of  the  first  dynasty.  After 
Menes  the  civilization  of  Egypt  went  on  developing  through  fifty  cen- 
turies and  under  thirty  practically  successive  dynasties,  and  was  spread 
by  Phoenician  traders  along  the  whole  basin  of  the  Mediterranean. 
After  exercising  a  powerful  influence  on  the  glorious  dawn  of  Greek 
culture,  it  was  later  in  turn  influenced  so  much  by  Greece  that  Egypt 
became  Greek  under  the  Ptolemies,  although  she  remained  true  to  the 
hieratic  form  of  her  ancient  cult  even  when  she  was  lashed  to  the 


m^r^'T' 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 

triumphal  chariot  of  conquering 
Rome.  Later,  however,  her  speech 
and  her  writing  began  to  be  for- 
gotten, especially  after  the  victori- 
ous advent  of  Christianity;  they 
were  utterly  lost  when  Arab  hordes 
swept  over  her  territory,  and  re- 
mained buried  and  dead  through- 
out the  Middle  Ages  down  almost 
to  our  ow^n  day.  Thus,  the  long 
historical  inscriptions  over  the 
temples  that  remained  standing, 
and  the  writings  on  the  tombs  of 
the  Pharaohs  and  other  famous 
personages,  which  contained  pre- 
cious data  for  Egypt's  history,  and 
which  even  during  the  Roman  era 
could  still  be  understood  by  a  few, 
became  in  course  of  time  a  closed 
book  for  the  whole  world.  And 
when,  at  a  later  epoch,  the  study 
of  antiquity  took  on  a  new  life, 
and  the  student  was  anxious  to 
know  something  of  this  land  of 
mystery,  he  had  to  be  content  with 
the  few  notices  preserved  in  the 
Bible  and  with  the  more  or  less 
inaccurate  stories  handed  down 
by  Greek  or  Roman  writers,  who 
very  commonly  confused  and  al- 
tered the  names  of  the  Pharaohs, 
and  ignored  whole  periods  of  the 
history  of  a  great  people,  because 
they  were  incapable  of  appreciat- 
ing its  civilization,  and  especially 
its  religion. 

This  almost  complete  eclipse  of 
Egypt's  storj'  would  have  persisted 
down  to  our  own  times  had  there 
not  occurred,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  the  won- 
derful discovery  of  Champollion, 


253 


Red  Granite  Statue  of  Ptolemy 
(285-247  B.C.) 


Philadelphus 


254 


THE  VATICAN 


which  lifted  the  veil  of  Isis  and  re- 
vealed the  secrets  buried  in  the 
hieroglyphics  of  Egypt.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  deciphering  of 
Egyptian  hieroglyphics  was  made 
possible  by  the  discovery  of  the 
famous  Rosetta  stone  (now  in  the 
British  Museum),  with  its  bilin- 
gual inscription  (Greek  and  Egyp- 
tian), wherein  it  was  possible  to 
read  the  name  of  Ptolemy.  The 
discovery  was  verified  by  com- 
parison with  another  bilingual  in- 
scription from  the  Temple  of  Isis 
on  the  Island  of  Philae,  containing 
the  name  of  Cleopatra.  From  that 
day  to  our  own,  the  study  of  Egyp- 
tian antiquities  has  made  great 
progress;  very  successful  excava- 
tions have  been  made  in  various 
parts  of  Egypt;  museums  have 
been  opened  in  Cairo  and  in  the 
principal  cities  of  Europe;  nu- 
merous works  have  been  written, 
dealing  with  Egyptian  monuments 
of  every  kind,  hieroglyphic  texts, 
and  hieratic  and  demotic  papyri. 
And  thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that 
the  mistakes  of  the  ancient  Greek 
and  Roman  writers  in  connection 
with  the  history  and  civilization 
of  Egypt  have  been  gradually  cor- 
rected; Egyptian  chronology  has 
been  verified;  the  lists  of  the  Pha- 
raohs of  the  various  dynasties  and 
the  spelling  of  their  names  have 
been  revised ;  the  religion  of  Egypt, 
so  misunderstood  by  Classical 
writers,  has  been  fathomed  and 
explained;  her  literature  has  been 
restored;  poems,  legends,  religious 
and  philosophical  treatises,  cover- 


Ptolemy  Philadolphus 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM  255 

ing  thirty  centuries,  have  been  once  more  brought  to  light.  In  a  word, 
the  Egyptian  world  has  been  restored  to  us  in  all  the  manifestations  of 
its  private  and  public  life.  On  the  fortunate  discovery  of  Champollion 
the  science  of  Egj-ptology  has  been  erected. 

The  first  period  of  Egyptian  history  is  generally  known  as  the  "An- 
cient Empire,"  or  as  the  Memphitic  period,  because  Memphis  (the  mod- 
ern Bedrashein,  near  Cairo,  in  Lower  Egypt)  was  the  residence  of  the 
Pharaohs.  This  period  comprises  the  first  ten  dynasties,  of  which  the 
most  important  was  the  fourth,  including  the  reigns  of  the  three  great 
pyramid-builders,  Cheops  (Chufu),  Chephren  (Kafra)  and  Mycerinus 
(Menkaura).  The  date  is  about  4000  n.c.  The  eleventh  and  twelfth 
dynasties  followed;  the  twelfth  is  very  important,  and  one  of  its  kings 
was  the  Pharaoh  of  Abram  (about  2000  b.c).  This  great  period,  of 
which  w^e  possess  rich  monumental  remains,  was  succeeded  by  a  less 
known  epoch,  which  might  be  designated  the  "Middle  Period,"  and 
lasted  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  seventeenth  dynasty,  thus  including 
the  domination  of  the  foreign  Hyksos,  or  Shepherd  Kings.  It  was  dur- 
ing this  time  that  the  Hebrews  settled  in  Egypt.  Independence  was 
restored  in  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  and  with  this  "New  Empire"  began 
the  most  glorious  period  of  Egyptian  civilization,  during  which  the 
authority  of  the  Pharaohs  was  extended  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris  and  the  Euphrates.  Its  apogee  was  reached  in  the  reigns  of 
Tuthmosis  HI  (eighteenth  dynasty)  and  Rameses  II  (nineteenth  dy- 
nasty), wdio  is  now  generally  identified  as  the  Pharaoh  who  persecuted 
the  Hebrews,  and  in  whose  reign  Moses  was  born.  Under  the  next 
Pharaoh,  Meneptah  I,  the  people  of  Israel  were  led  from  the  land  of 
captivity  (thirteenth  century  b.c). 

This  glorious  era  was  followed  by  a  period  of  decadence,  which 
lasted  from  the  twenty-first  to  the  twenty-fifth  dynasty,  when  the 
Assyrians  under  the  Sargonides  conquered  the  land  of  Egypt.  A  brief 
spell  of  freedom  and  glory  followed  in  the  Saite  period  of  the  twenty- 
sixth  dynasty,  when  Egyptian  civilization  felt  in  turn  the  influence  of 
Greek  culture.  It  was  quickly  followed,  however,  by  the  conquests 
of  King  Cambyses  of  Persia,  who  put  an  end  to  the  ancient  kingdom  of 
the  Pharaohs  (525  b.c).  Alexander  the  Great  came  fast  on  the  heels  of 
the  Persians,  and  then  the  rule  of  the  Ptolemies  began,  only  to  give  way 
in  turn  to  the  eagles  of  Rome  in  the  days  of  Augustus.  The  last  stage 
in  this  decay  of  a  people  arrived  with  the  Arab  conquest  in  the  seventh 
century  after  Christ. 

Originally  the  religion  of  ancient  Egypt  was  probably  monotheistic, 
but  corruption  crept  in,  as  happened  in  all  ancient  religions,  and  a 
form  of  polytheism  arose,  with  certain  modifications  for  the  initiated 


256  THE  VATICAN 

and  the  learned.  The  next  step  on  the  part  of  the  masses  was  to  fetich- 
ism,  including  the  worship  of  animals,  which,  in  the  ancient  theology, 
were  regarded  merely  as  symhols  and  various  attributes  of  the  deity. 
The  religion  of  Egypt,  at  least  at  the  time  when  we  know  it  better,  was 
based  on  sun  worship,  the  sun  being  taken  to  represent  the  most  glo- 
rious manifestation  of  the  deity;  and  all  the  other  gods  of  its  complex 
mythology  were  nothing  but  solar  emanations,  typifying  one  or  other 
beneficial  effect  derived  from  the  sun  or  referring  to  its  mysterious 
generative  power.  There  were  many  deities,  divided  into  groups  or 
triads,  each  having  its  special  locality  in  Egypt.  The  underlying  idea 
of  each  group  or  triad  is  as  follows:  (1)  a  male  deity,  emblem  of  the 
action  of  the  sun  and  the  generative  power  of  the  divinity;  (2)  a  female 
deity,  emblem  of  the  sky  within  which  the  action  of  the  sun  takes 
place;  (3)  a  sun-god  born  of  these  two,  that  is,  of  the  activity  of  the  one 
within  the  other.  The  most  famous  triad,  and  the  one  most  widely 
worshipped  in  Egypt,  was  that  of  Osiris,  Isis  and  Horus.  The  deity 
became  incarnate  in  the  ox  Apis,  who  was  adored  during  life  and  even 
after  death;  but  the  deity  also  manifested  himself  in  the  person  of  the 
Pharaoh,  who  was  held  to  be  a  real  god  while  on  earth,  and  to  whom, 
after  death,  temples  were  raised  and  sacrifices  offered. 

Just  as  from  the  supreme  deity  the  lesser  deities  emanated,  so  from 
these  lesser  deities  came  forth  the  race  of  men,  composed  of  a  soul  and 
a  body.  Man  was  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  deity,  and  after  death  his  soul, 
separated  from  his  body,  was  to  live  a  life  beyond  the  tomb.  The  dead 
were  believed  to  pass  through  mysterious  regions  and  present  them- 
selves for  judgment  before  the  tribunal  of  Osiris.  If  found  guilty,  the 
dead  were  subjected  to  various  tortures  and  then  annihilated;  souls 
which  were  adjudged  just  had  in  every  case  to  purify  themselves  of 
the  faults  committed  in  the  body,  and  wander  through  the  regions  be- 
neath the  earth,  exposed  to  many  trials.  Having  cleansed  themselves 
of  every  stain  during  this  painful  pilgrimage,  they  were  at  length 
absorbed  back  into  the  divinity  and  became  one  with  it.  But  during 
their  long  wanderings,  lasting  perhaps  for  centuries,  the  souls  were 
transformed  and  returned  occasionally  to  earth  and  to  their  tombs  to 
visit  the  body,  which  they  had  to  lind  well  preserved  if  they  were  to 
rest  there  and  live  over  within  the  tomb  the  same  life  that  they  had 
lived  in  this  body  on  earth.  This  belief  gave  rise  to  the  custom  of  em- 
balming corpses,  so  that  they  might  retain  as  long  as  possible  their 
human  shape  for  the  comfort  of  the  soul  wdiich  was  to  rest  there. 
Hence  also  arose  the  custom  of  decorating  tombs  with  pictures  repre- 
senting the  earthly  life  of  the  deceased,  and  with  inscriptions  contain- 
ing lengthy  prayers,  so  that  the  returning  souls  might  delight  in  the 


THE  EGYPTIAN  iMUSEUM 


257 


scenes  and  recite  the  formulse  pre- 
scribed for  use  during  their  long 
wanderings. 

The  funeral  monuments  usually 
seen  in  museums  are  fragments 
of  the  walls  or  doors  of  tombs, 
stelse,  sarcophagi,  painted  cofTms, 
vases,  statuettes,  mummies  with 
their  amulets,  and  papyri.  The 
walls  and  doors  of  tombs  are  often 
splendidly  decorated  with  exten- 
sive scenes  showing  the  carved 
figure  of  the  defunct  in  adoration 
before  a  god,  and  with  long  in- 
scriptions giving  the  names  of 
kings,  the  titles  of  dignitaries,  and 
phrases  taken  from  the  sacred 
books.  Shorter  texts  of  a  similar 
nature  are  found  on  the  funeral 
stelse,  which  also  give  us  impor- 
tant information  concerning  the 
religion  and  social  organization  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians  and  pre- 
serve for  us  various  religious 
and  funeral  symbols,  particularly 
scenes  depicting  the  otfering  of 
sacrifice.  The  sarcophagi  of  sand- 
stone or  granite  are  sometimes 
carved  to  resemble  houses  with 
doors  and  windows,  thus  symbol- 
izing the  eternal  dwelling-place  of 
the  dead,  and  are  decorated  with 
texts  in  hieroglyphic  characters 
like  those  on  the  walls  and  the 
stelae.  Sometimes,  too,  they  take 
the  shape  of  the  mummies,  and  the 
lid  is  in  many  cases  surmounted 
by  a  representation  of  the  head  of 
the  defunct,  adorned  by  the  pe- 
culiar head-dress  known  as  the 
calantica.  Within  these  enormous 
receptacles  were  placed  the  coffins 


Statue  of  an  Unknown  Princess 

belonging  to  the  House  of 

the  Ptolemies 


258 


THE  VATICAN 


of  sycamore  wood,  painted 
inside  and  out  with  figures 
of  the  deities,  the  gods  of 
the  underworld,  and  hiero- 
glyphic inscriptions  repro- 
ducing   in    most    instances 
verses    or    whole    chapters 
from    the    "Book    of    the 
Dead."      In     these     coffins 
were  placed  the  mummies, 
wrapped  tightly  in  swathing 
bands  and  covered  with  little 
pious   objects   or   amulets. 
The     chief   amulets     used 
were:  (1)  the  scarab,  sym- 
bol of  the  resurrection;  (2) 
the  tat,  or  easel,  symbol  of 
stability;  (3)  the  u/^a,  or  eye, 
symbol    of    the    all-seeing 
deity;  (4)  the  anch,  symbol 
of  life;  (5)  the  iireus,  or  ser- 
pent, symbol  of  the  female 
deity;     (6)    the    usech,    or 
necklace,  the  reward  of  the 
just,  spoken  of  in  the  "Book 
of  the  Dead."     There  are 
many    other    amulets,    not 
to  mention  the  diminutive 
statues  of  the  minor  deities. 
Near  the  coffins  were  also 
placed  four  vases  crowded 
with  the  heads  of  animals. 
These  vases  may  be  seen  in 
almost   any   museum,    and 
are  known  under  the  erro- 
neous name  of  Canopi,  or 
Canopic  vases,  because  they 
resemble  the  grotesque  fig- 
ure of  the  god  Canopus  of 
the  Alexandrine  era.    They 
are  more  properly  called  fu- 
neral   vases,    because    they 


Statue  of  Queen  Tuaa,  Wile  of  Seti  I 
and  Mother  of  Rameses  II 
(Fourteenth  Century  B.C.) 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 


259 


Sandstone  Head  of  Mcntuhotep   (Eleventh  Dynasty, 
between  3000  and  2000  B.C.) 


contain  the  viscera  of  the  em- 
balmed defunct.  They  were  four 
in  number,  each  containing  one  of 
the  viscera,  and  were  dedicated 
under  the  protection  of  the  genius 
whose  head  appeared  on  the  lid. 
The  names  of  these  genii  were: 
(1)  Amset  (man-headed);  (2) 
Hapi  (baboon-headed);  (3)  Tuau- 
mautef  (jackal-headed);  (4)  Keb- 
senuf  (hawk-headed).  Usually 
the  inscriptions  on  the  vases  tell 
of  the  protecting  influence  of  these 
genii,  and  speak  of  the  four  divini- 
ties, Isis,  Neftis,  Neit,  and  Selk, 

The  papyri  found  in  the  tombs 
deal  with  various  subjects.  They 
contain  poems,  tales,  moral  trea- 
tises, and  even  works  on  medicine 
and  mathematics.  They  are  thus 
precious  records  showing  the  high 

degree  of  civilization  reached  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  even  from  the 
remotest  days  of  their  history.  Most  of  the  papyri  found  in  museums  are 
funeral  papyri,  particularly  those  which  contain  a  portion  or  all  of  the 
text  of  the  sacred  book  which  was  called  in  Egyptian  Sciat  per  em  heru 
("Book  of  the  Going  Out  in  the  Daytime"),  but  which  Lepsius,  who  was 
the  first  to  publish  it,  called  the  Todtenhuch,  and  which  has  thus  been 
since  known  as  the  "Book  of  the  Dead."  It  was  divided  into  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  chapters,  each  bearing  at  its  head  "Ro  en  .  .  ."{i.e., 
"Chapter  of  .  .  ."),  and  decorated  with  plain  and  colored  vignettes 
showing  the  various  incidents  in  the  travels  of  the  souls  in  the  under- 
w^orld.  As  these  papyri  were  prepared  in  advance  by  the  scribes,  and 
were  bought  when  the  funeral  took  place,  the  space  for  the  name  of  the 
dead  person  was  left  blank,  and  we  thus  see  the  name  inserted  by  an- 
other hand. 

The  "Book  of  the  Dead"  is  of  great  importance  for  the  study  of  the 
mysterious  religion  of  Egypt,  and  it  has  been  rightly  called  the  "Bible 
of  the  Ancient  Egyptians."  Its  text  is  very  obscure,  and  even  to-day, 
as  Navilli  frankly  confesses,  we  have  not  been  able  to  penetrate  into  its 
mystical  secrets.  The  principal  editions  of  this  book  are  those  of 
Lepsius  and  Navilli;  there  is  a  good  French  translation  by  Pierret,  and 
a  good  English  one  by  Le  Page  Renouf.    Another  important  document 


260 


THE  VATICAN 


Seated  Statue  of  Seti  I   ( lar.fi-Kiaa 


is  the  book  of  the  Ap  en  Ro  ("The  W 
Opening  of  the  Month"),  usually 
known  as  the  "Book  of  Funerals," 
and  often  wrongly  identified  with 
the  "Book  of  the  Dead."  It  con- 
tains the  burial  service  used  from 
the  moment  the  embalmed  corpse 
was  taken  from  the  house  wdiere 
it  had  been  exposed,  during  the 
journey  to  the  tomb,  and  during 
the  long  ceremonies  in  the  necrop- 
olis until  the  tomb  was  closed.  Ex- 
ceedingly rare  are  the  papyri  con- 
taining this  document,  which  is  of 
the  highest  importance.  It  was 
published  by  Schiaparelli  in  1881- 
1882. 

There  is  something  so  peculiarly 
distinctive  about  Egyptian  art  that 
we  can  at  once  distinguish  Egyp- 
tian productions  from  those  of  any  other  ancient  people.  In  archi- 
tecture the  pyramidal  effect  predominated,  the  pyramid  being  the 
symbol  of  the  radiant  sun.  The  columns  are  crowned  with  strange 
capitals  of  lotus  flowers,  and  the  architraves  are  ornamented  with 
solar  discs  and  urei.  Everywhere  on  the  walls,  doors  and  columns  are 
accumulated  iigures  of  gods  and  Pharaohs,  and  everywhere  long  hiero- 
glyphic inscriptions  form  a  real  and  appropriate  decoration  of  the 
monuments.  This  style  of  art,  which  had  been  developing  from  the 
remotest  periods  of  the  first  dynasties,  was  preserved  almost  unaltered 
in  its  hieratic  form  through  forty  centuries  of  Egyptian  history,  so 
that  only  an  Egyptologist,  by  a  chronological  comparison  of  the  monu- 
ments, can  succeed  in  distinguishing  the  characteristics  of  the  paint- 
ings and  sculptures  of  the  various  ages.  This  singular  art  caught 
the  fancy  and  pleased  the  taste  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  wdio,  when 
they  conquered  Egypt,  attempted  to  imitate  it,  either  as  a  salve  to 
the  wounded  pride  of  the  conquered  people  or  owing  to  the  attrac- 
tion of  strange  artistic  forms,  as  we  to-day  imitate  the  productions 
of  the  Far  East. 

And,  just  as  in  this  imitative  process  Egyptian  art  underwent  a 
change,  Egyptian  religion  likewise  took  on  a  new  form — that  of  the 
worship  of  Isis,  which  grew  up  in  the  Grseco-Alexandrine  period  and 
lasted  during  a  large  part  of  the  Roman  period.    Of  all  the  divine  triads 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM  261 

worshipped  in  the 
land  of  Egypt  in  the 
olden  days,  the  only 
one  that  survived  was 
that  of  Osiris,  Isis  and 
Horus,  in  connection 
with  whose  worship 
the  old  ceremonies 
were  retained  with  a 
newly  invented  rit- 
ual. The  worship  of 
Isis  spread  rapidly 
throughout  the  Em- 
pire, and  from  all 
parts  people  flocked 
to  be  initiated  in  the 
mystic  religion  where- 
in souls  that  turned 
in  loathing  from  the 
polytheism  of  Greece 
and  Rome  sought  a 
higher  and  purer  doc- 
trine. Thus  it  hap- 
pened that  in  Rome 
and  in  the  principal 
cities,  from  the  first 
days  of  the  Empire,  . 
splendid  temples  were 
erected  in  honor  of 
Isis  and  Serapis,  containing  statues  and  inscriptions  brought  from 
Egypt,  or  imitations  of  them  made  at  home. 

In  a  museum  it  is  well  to  distinguish  the  truly  Egyptian  antiquities, 
belonging  to  the  epoch  of  the  Pharaohs,  from  those  of  the  time  of  the 
Ptolemies  and  from  those  dating  merely  from  the  period  of  the  Roman 
domination.  Nor  is  it  hard  to  do  so;  since,  putting  aside  the  Grgeco- 
Roman  reproductions  of  Egyptian  deities  which  may  be  unfailingly 
recognized  from  their  Classical  style,  even  the  sculptures  and  inscrip- 
tions in  which  the  imitation  of  the  national  art  of  ancient  Egypt  has 
been  attempted  present  a  remarkable  difference  from  indigenous  pro- 
ductions, and  bear  the  clearest  marks  of  imitation. 

Room  I.  Hall  of  the  Coffins  and  Sarcophagl — On  the  right  as  you 
enter  is  the  painted  lid  of  a  mummy  coffin,  with  a  hieroglyphic  inscrip- 


Green  Basalt  Statue  of  the  Priest  Ut-a-hor-resent 
(Sixth  Century  B.C.) 


262 

tion  (No.  1) 


THE  VATICAN 


longs 


It  be- 
to  a  priestess 
of  Ammon,  named 
Neschonsu.  The  in- 
scription of  six  ver- 
tical lines  contains 
sacrificial  prayers, 
and  there  is  a  prayer 
that  the  dead  lady 
may  come  forth  as  a 
living  soul,  and  that 
it  be  granted  her  to 
see  the  radiant  disc 
of  the  sun  together 
with  the  spirits  of 
light.  On  the  left  is 
the  coffin  (No.  2)  to 
which  the  lid  (No.  1) 
belongs.  It  is  decor- 
ated with  paintings 
and  an  inscription. 
The  dead  priestess  is 
shown  clad  in  a 
white  robe  before  an 
altar.  Her  name  and 
that  of  her  husband, 
Tet-Hor-auf-ank,  are 
given.  There  are, 
moreover,  the  roval 


lic^ 


Naophorus,  or  Shrine-bearing  Statue 


cartouches  of  Pharaoh  Amenophis  I  (eighteenth  dynasty),  cartouches 
which  are  to  be  found  even  on  monuments  subsequent  to  his  time,  as 
this  ruler  was  held  in  great  veneration.  The  coffin  dates  from  the 
Bubastitic  dynasty  (tenth  century  b.c). 

No.  4  is  a  coffin  lid  similar  to  No.  1,  belonging  to  a  priestess  of  Am- 
mon and  Chonsu-pa-krat  named  Tet-maut,  and  dates  from  the  same 
period.  No.  5  is  the  coffin  belonging  to  the  above  cover,  and  shows  well- 
preserved  painted  figures  and  hieroglyphic  inscriptions.  On  the  outside, 
to  the  right  as  you  face  it,  is  a  remarkable  scene  showing  the  funeral 
cortege  of  the  mummy,  which  goes  from  the  house  to  the  tomb,  exactly 
as  described  in  the  "Book  of  Funerals."  The  mummy  is  shown  resting 
on  a  boat-shaped  vehicle  drawn  by  oxen  and  surrounded  by  priests  re- 
citing prayers  and  carrying  the  sacred  instruments  and  the  ritual  papyri. 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 


263 


N;i"phnrus,  shuwinj^  the  (;;irviil  I  it^iirr  of  Osiris 


In  front  of  both  walls  of  the 
hall,  and  to  the  right  and  left  as 
you  enter,  are  three  large  sar- 
cophagi in  basalt  with  closely  writ- 
ten hieroglyphic  inscriptions  which 
refer  to  the  twenty-sixth  or  Saite 
dynasty  (seventh  and  sixth  cen- 
turies B.C.).  The  sarcophagus  on 
the  right  belonged  to  a  courtier  of 
the  time  of  Psammetichus  II  (596- 
591  B.C.),  who  was  called  Nefer- 
ab-ra-meri-Neit,  the  first  part  of 
which  is  the  same  as  the  prenomen 
of  the  above  Pharaoh.  Of  the 
other  two  sarcophagi  on  the  left, 
one  belongs  to  a  high-priest  of  the 
temple,  a  favorite  of  a  king  named 
Necht-Hor-menk-ab;  the  other  is 
placed  upside  down  so  as  to  show 
the  inscription,  which  must  have 
reached  to  the  ground.  This  belonged  to  another  priest,  named  Psam- 
tik,  and  the  brief  inscription  breathes  the  wish  "that  his  name  may 
live  in  eternity." 

Room  II.  Hall  of  the  Statues. — No.  8,  to  the  right  as  you  enter,  is  a 
colossal  statue  of  the  goddess  Sechet,  which  has  the  head  of  a  lioness 
surmounted  by  the  solar  disc  and  the  serpent  (iireiis).  She  is  seated  on 
a  throne,  holding  the  symbol  of  life  (the  anch).  This  goddess  was  the 
symbol  of  the  devouring  heat  of  the  sun,  and  presided  over  the  punish- 
ment of  the  lost  in  the  Egyptian  hell.  There  were  a  long  series  of  such 
statues  erected  by  Amenophis  HI  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  in  the  city 
of  Thebes,  and  from  that  city  undoubtedly  came  this  and  the  other 
statues  of  the  same  goddess,  several  of  which  are  in  the  Museum.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  hall  is  another  statue  of  the  goddess,  in  the  same 
attitude  (No.  26).  On  the  front  of  the  throne  on  the  right,  and  to  the 
left  of  the  figure  of  the  goddess,  still  remain  the  royal  cartouches  of 
Amenophis  III  (dating  from  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century 
B.C.),  under  whose  reign  Egypt  reached  the  zenith  of  its  power  and 
culture. 

No.  12,  standing  out  from  the  wall  to  the  right  as  you  go  in,  is  a  colos- 
sal red  granite  statue  of  Ptolemy  II  Philadelphus  (285-247  B.C.).  The 
cartouche  with  his  name  is  inscribed  on  the  front  of  his  girdle,  and  is 
repeated  in  the  hieroglyphic  inscription  on  the  small  obelisk  on  which 


264 

he  leans. 


THE  VATICAN 


The  reign 


of  this  sovereign  is 
memorable  in  his- 
tory for  the  splendor 
Egypt  reached  under 
him,  especially  in  the 
sciences,  which  were 
cultivated  in  the 
famous  schools  at 
Alexandria,  where  he 
founded  his  great 
library.  To  his  time 
also  belongs  the  fa- 
mous translation  of 
the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures into  Greek 
known  as  the  Sep- 
tuagint.  On  the  right 
and  left  of  this  statue 
are  placed  two  other 
red  granite  statues 
of  princesses  of  the 
house  of  the  Ptol- 
emies. No.  14,  on  the 
right,  is  a  statue  of 
Arsinoe,  sister  and 
wife  of  Ptolemy 
Philadelphus;  and 
No.  10,  on  the  left,  is 
the  statue  of  an  unknown  princess.  No.  17,  before  the  end  wall,  is  a 
statue  in  gray  veined  marble  of  Queen  Tuaa,  consort  of  Seti  I  and 
mother  of  Rameses  II  (fourteenth  century  B.C.),  On  the  diadem 
crowned  with  urei,  which  she  wears  on  her  head,  are  carved  the  car- 
touches of  Rameses  II  and  of  the  Queen  herself.  To  the  left  is  the  fig- 
ure of  her  daughter,  with  the  iireus  on  her  head,  and  with  a  cartouche 
telling  her  name:  "Royal  daughter  of  the  Royal  Mother,  Het-ma-ra." 

To  the  right  and  left  of  the  statue  of  Tuaa,  two  lions,  in  gray  veined 
marble  and  larger  than  life,  are  stretched  on  rectangular  plinths  and 
bear  the  cartouches  of  Nectanebo  II  of  the  thirtieth  dynasty,  the  last  of 
the  Pharaohs  (362-340  B.C.).  These  two  magnificent  pieces  of  sculp- 
ture were  brought  to  Rome  in  the  time  of  Augustus  and  set  up  near  the 
Pantheon,  where  they  were  found  when  some  alterations  were  being 


Opislliugr;iplii(.'  SaiulstoiU'  Sti-lc 
(Fourteenth  Century  B.C.) 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM  265 

made  in  the  time  of  Pope  Eugene  IV  (1431-1447).  In  the  time  of  Sixtus 
V  (1585-1590)  they  were  set  up  as  ornaments  near  the  Fountain  of  the 
Termini  which  this  Pontitf  had  built.  Finally  they  were  brought  to 
the  Egyptian  Museum  by  Gregory  XVI  (1831-1846),  its  founder,  who 
had  four  imitation  statues  set  up  in  their  places  around  the  fountain, 
bearing  copies  of  the  original  inscriptions. 

We  now  come  to  the  left  wall  where  the  windows  are.  Here  is  No.  20, 
a  basalt  statue  of  the  goddess  Sechet,  standing  erect  and  bearing  in  her 
right  hand  the  anch  and  in  her  left  the  sceptre.  No.  23  is  the  lower  por- 
tion of  a  seated  granite  statue  of  the  famous  Rameses  II  of  the  nine- 
teenth dynasty,  who  was  probably  the  Pharaoh  who  persecuted  the 
Hebrews,  who  is  spoken  of  in  the  Book  of  Exodus,  and  during  whose 
reign  the  birth  of  Moses  took  place.  According  to  recent  computations 
of  Egyptian  chronology,  Rameses  II  reigned  from  1349  to  1288  B.C. 
Near  the  same  wall,  before  the  window,  is  No.  25  A,  a  sandstone  head 
representing  one  of  the  kings  of  the  eleventh  dynasty  who  bore  the 
name  of  Mentuhotep  (before  2000  B.C.).  The  name  of  this  Pharaoh  is 
written  in  a  rectangular  cartouche  on  the  side  of  the  monument,  to  the 
right  as  3^ou  look  at  it.  This  is  the  oldest  royal  statue  in  the  Museum, 
and  the  reign  of  this  Pharaoh  antedates  the  era  of  Abram,  who  went 
down  into  Egypt  in  the  twelfth  dynasty.  Close  by  is  No.  25  B,  a  seated 
statue,  in  green  granite,  of  King  Seti  I  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  father 
of  Rameses  II.  According  to  Brugsch's  chronology,  he  reigned  from 
about  1366  to  1333  b.c. 

Room  III.  Hall  of  the  Naophorus. — In  the  centre  of  the  hall  is  No. 
113,  the  famous  statuette,  in  green  basalt,  of  the  priest  Ut-a-hor-resent, 
custodian  of  the  Temple  of  Neit  in  the  city  of  Sais  about  the  end  of  the 
twenty-sixth  dynasty  (sixth  century  b.c).  The  priest  is  represented  as 
carrying  in  his  hands  a  small  shrine  (naos),  within  which  is  seen  the 
carved  figure  of  the  god  Osiris.  The  long-haired  head  of  this  statue  is 
a  modern  restoration.  The  body  of  the  statue  is  literally  covered  wdth 
one  long  hieroglyphic  inscription,  which  begins  at  the  front,  to  the  left 
as  you  look  at  the  statuette,  and  extends  all  around  it.  The  inscrip- 
tion tells  us  that  the  priest  held  many  important  offices  during  the  long 
reign  of  Amasis  II  (564-526  b.c.)  and  under  the  brief  rule  of  Psam- 
metichus  III  (526-525  b.c).  He  was  priest  of  the  temple  of  Neit  at  Sais 
when  Cambyses,  King  of  Persia,  won  the  battle  of  Pelusium  and  re- 
duced Egypt  to  a  Persian  satrapy  (525  b.c).  The  new  ruler,  it  tells  us, 
conferred  on  the  priest  the  dignity  of  the  Grand  Sun,  and  charged  him 
to  prepare  the  royal  name  in  Egyptian,  which  he  did  under  the  form  of 
Ra-mesut  (i.e..  Born  of  the  Sun).  He  then  showed  Cambyses  the  monu- 
ments of  the  city  of  Sais,  and  explained  the  meaning  of  the  religious 


266 


THE  VATICAN 


worship    of    the 
itiating  him  into 
the   Egyptian   re- 
finally     able     to 
country  the  anger 
thus  meriting  the 
his  people.    This 
monument,  which 
of  the  collection, 
excavations      car- 
of   Hadrian,  near 
we  may  infer  that 
Rome  by  Hadrian's 
Twoothershrine- 
(naop/ioW),  dating 
twenty -sixth      dy- 
92,  are  to  be  found 
is  the  statue  of  a 
named    Patebchu ; 
other  priest  of  Sais, 
dignity  of  the  Grand 
Psamtik         Seneb. 
scription     on     the 
taken   partly  from 
the    "Book    of    the 
unionof  thesouland 
On  the  wall  con- 
is  a  table  of  offer- 
yellow  granite  base, 
with     hieroglyphics 
touches  of  Pharaoh 
eighteenth     Theban 
B.C.).     On  the  hori- 
this    table  or   altar, 
are  six  sacred  loaves, 
stands     a      libation 
four    sides    of     the 
scription      in     hori- 
ing  cartouches   with 
cognomen      of      the 
Pharaoh,    Tuthmosis 

No.  86  is  an  opisthographic  sandstone  stele 


Mummy-cover    (Third  Century 
after    Christ) 


goddess  Neit,  in- 
the  mysteries   of 
ligion.      He    was 
avert     from     his 
of  the  conqueror, 
great  gratitude  of 
most      valuable 
is  perhaps  the  gem 
was  found  during 
ried  on  at  the  Villa 
Tivoli,  and  hence 
it  was  brought  to 
^^orders. 
bearing        statues 
also      from       the 
nast3%  Nos.  91  and 
in  this  hall.  No.  91 
priest      of      Neit, 
No.   92   shows   an- 
who  also  bore  the 
Sun  and  was  named 
There  is  a  brief  in- 
back  of  the  statue, 
Chapter   lxxxix    of 
Dead,"  where  the  re- 
body  is  spoken  of. 
taining  the  window 
ings  (No.  87)   on  a 
rectangular  in  form, 
and  the   royal  car- 
Tuthmosis  III  of  the 
dynasty    (1503-1439 
zontal     surface     of 
carved  in  low  relief, 
in  the  midst  of  which 
bowl.      Around    the 
altar     runs     an    in- 
zontal  lines,  contain- 
the    prenomen    and 
above  -  mentioned 
111. 
set  on  a  pivot.    On  the 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 


267 


front  we  see  in  outline  the  seated  figures  of  a  husband  and  wife;  the 
man  leans  on  his  left  hand,  which  grasps  a  stick,  and  in  his  right  hand 
holds  the  sceptre,  called  the  sechem.  The  wife  grasps  his  arm  with  her 
right  hand,  while  her  left  rests  on  his  shoulder.  There  is  an  inscrip- 
tion on  the  figure,  showing  part  of  the  cartouche  of  King  Amenhotep, 
and  we  thus  learn  that  the  monu- 


ment belongs  to  the  nineteenth 
dynasty.  Following  this  inscrip- 
tion is  the  name  of  the  defunct, 
Neb-sen,  and  of  his  wife,  Amen- 
tu-tut.    In  front  of  the  couple  are 


the  standing  figures  of  their  three    ''^ 


v.-  r 


:^j;f'J';l<\/ 


/^i^6o(m 


no 


i(^\<(im 


'M 


Table  of  Offerings  of  Tuti-mes  (Eighteenth  Dynasty) 


sons  and  a  daughter,  together  with 
their  names.  Below  the  figures  of 
the  children  are  seen  various  obla- 
tions, including  some  vases,  a  cas- 
ket to  hold  the  funeral  statuettes, 
and  a  round  mirror.  Below  the 
whole  is  the  figure  of  a  girl  harpist 
who,  in  a  crouching  posture,  plucks  the  strings  of  her  instrument  in 
front  of  a  table  of  offerings.  Near  her  are  the  words:  "The  Singer 
of  Ammon." 

No.  70  is  a  statuette  of  black  granite,  showing  an  Egyptian  officer 
crouching  and  wearing  the  calantica;  his  arms  are  resting  on  his  knees. 
On  the  front  of  his  robe,  under  the  arms,  are  three  vertical  lines  of 
hieroglyphics  reading  from  right  to  left,  telling  us  that  the  dead  man's 
name  was  Aa,  that  he  was  a  cavalry  officer,  and  that  he  was  the  son  of 
an  officer  named  Pa-un.  This  work  belongs  to  the  Saite  period.  No.  94 
is  a  small  basalt  statue  of  a  priest  standing  with  his  arms  relaxed  along 
his  sides  and  leaning  against  an  obelisk.  From  the  inscription  we 
learn  that  he  was  a  priest  of  Ammon,  a  royal  scribe,  and  called  Pesatah, 
son  of  Hori  and  of  the  lady  Asit-ur.  No.  97  is  the  statuette  of  a  naopho- 
rus  with  a  long  inscription  on  the  back.  He  holds  before  his  breast  a 
cylindrical  base  on  which  crouches  a  baboon,  and  on  which  is 
carved  an  inscription  in  four  vertical  lines  with  an  invocation  to  this 
animal,  which  was  sacred  to  the  god  Thot.  From  the  inscription  we 
learn  that  the  priest  was  named  Chet-hir,  and  that  he  was  guardian  of 
the  treasury,  and  son  of  Men-chat  and  the  lady  of  the  household,  Nefer- 
tau.  The  statuette  belongs  to  the  Persian  period.  No.  99  is  a  fragment 
of  a  yellow  alabaster  vase  for  holding  the  sacred  oblations.  It  is  shaped 
like  a  truncated  pyramid  set  upside  down.  This  work  belongs  to  a  late 
period.    It  shows  scenes  depicting  the  worship  of  various  divinities. 


268 


THE  VATICAN 


Room  IV.  The  Hemicycle. — To  the  right  as  you  enter  is  No.  120  A, 
a  well-preserved  unpainted  sycamore  coffin,  containing  a  mummy 
wrapped  in  its  bands.  It  belongs  to  the  lady  Chen-em-hat,  daughter  of 
Samtaui,  of  the  latest  Saite  period.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the 
funeral  wreath  of  flowers  around  the  mummy's  neck  is  still  well  pre- 
served. In  the  glass  case  near  the  wall  are  the  cloths  and  other  Coptic 
objects  found  in  the  excavations  at  Antinoe,  and  given  to  the  Museum 
by  the  Guimet  Museum  of  Paris  in  1903.  The  most  important  among 
them  is  a  mummy-cover,  which  probably  belongs  to  the  third  century 
of  the  Christian  era.  It  shows  the  body  of  a  woman  standing  upright, 
with  the  left  hand  pressed  to  the  breast  and  the  right  raised  in  gesture 
of  acclamation.    Around  it  runs  a  cornice  surmounted  by  a  solar  disc 


Carving  showing  the  Deceased  seated  before  a  Table  of  Offerings 
(Nineteenth  Dynasty;  Fourteenth  Century  b.c.) 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM  269 

among  urei.  To  the  right  are  two  pictures:  one  of  them  shows  a  man 
and  a  woman  struggling;  and  the  otlier  shows  a  man  seated  while  dic- 
tating to  a  woman  who  writes  in  an  open  book.  The  head  painted  on 
this  mummy-cloth  is  important  as  a  rare  example  of  an  ancient  por- 
trait. In  this  same  glass  case  there  are  a  small  collection  of  Egyptian 
Christian  lamps,  and  a  few  terra-cotta  ampullae,  on  which  is  depicted 
the  famous  St.  Menna  surrounded  by  camels,  with  the  inscription  "Oil 
of  St.  Menna."  No.  118,  in  the  recess  of  the  window,  is  a  rectangular 
sandstone  block,  divided  into  compartments  separated  by  numbers  in 
Egyptian  characters.  This  is  a  table  of  oblations,  various  numbers  in- 
dicating the  quantify  of  the  offerings.  No.  125,  also  in  the  recess  of  the 
window,  is  a  fragment  of  a  funeral  bas-relief,  showing  animals  sur- 
rounded by  lotus  flowers  and  reeds.  It  is  a  reproduction  of  a  bas-relief 
from  the  Egyptian  tomb.  No.  127  is  a  table  of  offerings  of  the  eigh- 
teenth dynasty.  The  inscription  around  the  cornice  of  the  table  con- 
tains a  prayer  to  Amnion  Ra  and  Osiris  that  the  dead  scribe,  Tuti-mes, 
may  receive  all  his  funeral  offerings. 

On  the  wall  of  the  Hemicycle  containing  the  windows  are  a  few 
mummj^-coffins  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty  with  painted  symbolic 
scenes  and  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  relating  to  various  priestesses  of 
Ammon.  These  coffins  come  from  the  famous  cachette  at  Deir-el- 
Bahri.  Towards  the  end  of  the  Hemicycle,  near  the  window,  is  a  sand- 
stone fragment  of  a  scene  showing  two  divinities  in  the  act  of  pouring 
from  two  vases  the  symbolic  signs  of  life  (anch)  over  Tuthmosis  III. 
No.  130,  in  the  corner,  is  a  large  panegyric  stele  of  Queen  Hatasu,  or 
Ramaka,  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  daughter  of  Tuthmosis  I,  wife  of 
Tuthmosis  II,  and  adviser  of  Tuthmosis  III.  In  the  centre  is  the  figure 
of  the  god  Ammon,  with  feathers  on  his  head  and  holding  his  sceptre 
in  his  hand.  Before  him  stands  the  Queen,  offering  gifts  to  the  divin- 
ity. Behind  is  Tuthmosis  III,  wearing  the  crown  of  Upper  Egypt,  w^hile 
on  his  right  the  City  of  Thebes  is  personified,  with  arrows  in  the  left 
and  the  anch  in  the  right  hand.  Under  the  carvings  runs  an  inscription 
of  five  horizontal  lines  in  which  the  cartouches  of  the  above  Queen 
appear.  This  monument  is  important  since  it  refers  to  a  woman  who 
was  celebrated  in  Egyptian  history  on  account  of  her  glorious  deeds 
and  the  magnificent  monuments  she  erected. 

No.  131,  below  No.  130,  is  a  cabinet  containing  a  noteworthy  collec- 
tion of  archaic  vases.  One  vase  is  inscribed  with  the  name  of  King 
Den,  one  of  the  most  ancient  kings  of  Egypt  and  referred  to  the  first 
dynasty.  This  collection  comes  from  the  excavations  at  Abydos.  Along 
the  wall  of  the  Hemicycle  opposite  the  windows  we  find  four  life-size 
statues  in  dark  granite  representing  the  goddess  Sechet.    They  date 


270 


THE  VATICAN 


Funeral  Stele  of  Apa  (Sixth  Dynasty) 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM  271 

from  the  time  of  Amenophis  III,  as  do  the  two  already  described  in 
Room  II,  and  all  were  found  in  the  Theban  temple  at  Karnak.  No.  136 
is  a  sandstone  sarcophagus,  the  lid  of  which  culminates  in  a  man's 
head  wearing  the  calantica.  It  dates  from  the  Saite  epoch.  The  in- 
scription mentions  an  official,  scribe,  and  priest  named  Ti-hotep.  No. 
135  A  is  a  sepulchral  stele  in  sandstone  belonging  to  the  priest  Pasetach, 
who  bore  the  title  of  Amiasi,  or  Priest  of  the  Sepulchres.  It  bears  sev- 
enteen horizontal  lines  of  hieroglyphics,  running  from  right  to  left  and 
containing  prayers  and  invocations  to  the  Sun,  Osiris,  Neit,  Ma,  and 
Taf  nut.  These  divinities,  together  with  their  names,  are  seen  above,  and 
the  defunct  is  shown  in  adoration  before  them.  The  text  of  this  inscrip- 
tion is  very  important,  because  it  is  an  extract  from  the  sacred  work  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians  called  the  "Book  of  the  Crossing  of  Eternity." 

No.  137  B  is  a  fragment 
of  a  funeral  carving  of  the 
nineteenth  dynasty,  rep- 
resenting the  deceased 
seated  before  a  table  of 
offerings,  wearing  an 
elaborate  head-dress  and 
the  necklace  iisech.  ^Yrit- 
ten  on  the  table  is  a  list  of 
the  offerings  he  has  made. 
The  workmanship  of  this 
sculpture  is  very  fine,  and 
belongs  to  the  classic  pe- 
riod of  Egj^ptian  art.  No. 
139  is  a  wooden  coffin, 
decorated  with  paintings 
and  containing  a  fairly 
well  preserved  mummy 
wrapped  in  its  bands, 
with  the  face  uncovered 
and  the  arms  crossed  on 
the  breast.  The  coffin  is 
placed  against  the  wall,  as 
is  also  the  lid,  which  is 
decorated  in  like  manner. 
On  the  left  of  the  coffin 
the  dead  woman's  name 
is  given  as  Hotep-hir-tes. 

No.    139  A   is   a   lid   of   the  stele  of  Hon  (Thirteenth  Dynasty) 


272 


THE  VATICAN 


Hieratic  Papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  belonging  to  Neskem  and  sliowing 

the  Tribunal  of  Osiris 

above  coffin.  Just  below  the  breastplate  there  are  portraits  of  Hotep- 
hir-tes  praying  to  the  gods  of  the  nether  world,  Amset,  Apis,  Kebsenuf, 
Tuaumautef,  and  to  the  deities  Thot,  Chnum,  Osiris,  Ra  and  others. 
The  inscription  contains  a  portion  of  Chapter  lxxxi  of  the  "Book  of  the 
Dead,"  relating  to  the  transmigration  of  the  soul  of  the  dead  into  a  lotus 
flower;  a  part  of  Chapter  lxxvi,  which  tells  of  other  transformations; 
and  a  part  of  Chapter  xliv,  concerning  the  life  of  the  soul  in  the  nether 
world.  The  goddess  Neit  is  depicted  on  the  inside  of  the  lid.  She  stands 
before  the  sacred  tree,  and  offers  with  both  hands  the  water  of  life  to 
the  soul  of  the  dead  woman,  which  is  represented  with  the  body  of  a 
bird  and  a  human  head.  There  is,  moreover,  a  long  vertical  inscription 
containing  Chapter  xxvi  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  which  is  headed 
"Chapter  for  giving  back  a  man  his  heart."  At  the  end  of  this  there  are 
a  few  other  lines  containing  prayers  for  the  dead,  one  of  which  has  the 
phrase:  "May  she  go  in  peace  towards  the  good  Anient."  This  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  important  coffins  in  the  Egyptian  Museum, 
in  view  of  both  the  nature  of  its  inscriptions  and  its  excellent  state  of 
preservation. 
No.  143  C  is  a  funeral  stele  dating  from  the  Ancient  Empire  (sixth 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 


273 


MA^-it  '*"--*^-^ -'''•.^Sb- 


J I 


.r.ijri-lj* 


Hieratic  P;ip\  i  iis 
(Continued 


uf  the  "P.ook  of  the 
from  opposite  page) 


Deal 


dynasty),  and  belonging  to  a  man  named  Apa.  It  is  shaped  like  a  door, 
as  was  usual  under  the  Ancient  Empire,  and  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
front  are  carved  four  figures,  of  which  two  (a  man  and  a  woman)  are 
on  the  door,  and  the  two  others  (of  men,  one  in  prayer)  are  on  the  sides. 
They  represent  the  family  of  the  dead  man,  perhaps  his  wife  and  three 
children,  who  come  to  fulfd  the  funeral  rites,  as  may  be  seen  on  many 
similar  monuments. 

The  cupboard  in  the  centre  of  the  Hemicycle  contains  a  stele  of  the 
time  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  with  a  hieroglyphic  inscription  telling  that 
the  dead  man  to  whom  it  belonged  was  called  Ara,  that  he  was  a  priest 
belonging  to  the  cult  of  the  pyramid  of  King  Chufu,  or  Cheops,  of  the 
fourth  dynasty  (4000  B.C.).  Above  it  is  placed  a  fragment  of  a  se- 
pulchral sculpture  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  showing  a  head  represented 
in  profde  and  painted.  The  glass  case  on  the  left  contains  a  papyrus 
case  with  an  inscription  giving  the  name  Tuthmosis,  a  priest  wdio  w^as 
guardian  of  the  Temple  of  Ammon.  The  glass  case  on  the  right  con- 
tains a  wooden  funeral  boat  with  small  figures  of  oarsmen.  It  belongs 
to  a  tomb  dating  from  the  days  of  the  twelfth  dynasty. 

No.  145  is  a  sarcophagus  with  a  lid  terminating  in  a  human  head 


274  THE  VATICAN 

wearing  the  calantica,  and  with  pointed  beard.  The  name  of  the  de- 
ceased is  Samtaui.  No.  146  B  is  a  stele  from  the  thirteenth  dynasty 
belonging  to  a  man  named  Hori,  who  is  shown  sitting  before  a  table 
of  offerings.  We  also  see  the  kneeling  figures  of  his  wife,  his  mother 
and  his  sister,  together  with  their  names.  No.  149  is  the  lid  of  a  syca- 
more coffin  in  the  form  of  a  mummy;  the  head  wears  the  calantica, 
and  the  eyes  are  painted  black.  A  necklace  is  carved  around  the 
neck,  and  below  it  is  the  winged  image  of  the  goddess  Neit,  with  the 
solar  disc  on  her  head  and  the  two  symbols  of  life  in  her  outstretched 
hands.  Below  the  image  of  the  goddess  is  written  a  portion  of  Chapter 
Lxii  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead."  The  name  of  the  dead  man  given  in  the 
inscription  is  Ua-ab-ra,  which  was  the  name  of  a  king  of  the  twenty- 
sixth  (Saite)  dynasty,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  monument  dates  from 
that  time. 

Hall  of  the  Gods  and  Objects  of  Cult. — After  the  Hemicycle  follow 
some  small  rooms  containing  the  lesser  objects  and  the  papyri.  The 
first  of  these  rooms  contains  statuettes  of  the  gods  and  sacred  animals 
as  well  as  objects  of  cult.  In  the  cabinet  on  the  left  as  you  enter,  the 
first  glass  case  contains  statuettes  of  the  god  Bes  and  of  the  goddess 
Hathur  and  also  small  bronze  figures  from  the  Roman  epoch,  note- 
worthy among  which  are  an  Aphrodite  and  a  female  figure  of  rosso 
antico  wearing  a  long  robe.  In  the  second  glass  case  are  bronze  and 
wooden  amulets,  also  boxes  with  amulets  of  various  shapes,  especially 
noteworthy  being  the  small  figures  of  the  god  Bes,  symbolic  eyes,  small 
vases  of  the  heart  and  the  feathers  of  Ammon.  In  the  bottom  of  this 
glass  case  are  exhibited  some  statuettes  of  baboons.  In  the  upper  part 
of  the  third  glass  case  are  mummies  of  haw^ks  and  crocodiles,  presented 
by  the  Franciscan  missionaries  of  Luxor  near  Thebes.  The  fourth 
glass  case  contains  thirty-five  cats  in  bronze,  stone  and  wood. 

In  the  fifth  glass  case  of  the  central  cabinet  are  fourteen  iirei  and 
fourteen  situlce  (including  a  noteworthy  one  in  bronze  with  graffiti  tig- 
ures).  In  the  middle  is  the  altar  for  presenting  the  offerings  to  Osiris. 
Twenty-four  statuettes  of  the  god  Nefer-tum  in  enamel,  bronze  and 
stone  are  also  exhibited  in  this  glass  case.  The  sixth  glass  case  contains 
eighty-two  statuettes  of  Osiris  in  stone,  bronze  and  wood,  five  being 
seated  with  their  backs  against  a  small  obelisk.  A  small  group  in  bronze 
represents  the  Egyptian  triad  Osiris,  Isis  and  Horus.  In  the  seventh  glass 
case  are  twenty  small  figures  of  Isis  feeding  Horus  at  her  breast;  only 
two  of  the  tigures  are  standing.  On  the  third  shelf  is  seen  a  rare  and 
precious  object,  an  ancient  censer,  like  those  we  see  in  the  bas-reliefs. 
To  the  right  a  small  bell  and  some  sistra  may  be  seen.  In  the  centre 
are  some  stilettos,  nails  and  spoons  (one  wooden).    Below  these  are 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM 


275 


statue  of  Antinoiis  ("The  Egyptian  Apollo") 


276  THE  VATICAN 

nineteen  small  figures  of  Isis,  three  of  the  god  Bes  and  three  of  Ammon 
Ra.  In  the  eighth  glass  case  of  the  cabinet  on  the  right  hand  are  four 
statuettes  of  the  goddess  Sechet,  seven  of  the  god  Ptah,  nine  of  Anubis 
and  twenty-seven  of  Harpocrates — that  is,  the  child  Horus  with  his 
finger  near  his  mouth.  This  attitude,  which  was  meant  to  suggest  the 
childhood  of  Horus,  was  later  interpreted  by  the  Greeks  as  an  action 
calling  for  silence.  The  child  Horus  was  thus  confused  with  the  god 
of  silence,  Harpocrates.    In  the  ninth  glass  case  are  five  statuettes  of 


Princess  holding  a  Tabic  of  OtTerings,  and  Two  Canopic  Vasts 

the  goddess  Sechet,  four  of  the  god  Kem,  three  of  Imhotep  and  five  of 
Horus.  In  the  lower  part  are  exhibited  sacred  animals:  crocodiles, 
frogs,  lions,  small  serpents  and  ten  sacred  oxen.  The  tenth  glass  case 
contains  fourteen  sacred  hawks  in  wood,  various  birds  and  birds' 
claws.  The  eleventh  glass  case  is  devoted  to  terra-cottas  of  a  late  pe- 
riod, including  votive  heads  and  arms.  On  the  wall  where  the  window 
is,  to  the  right  is  a  large  terra-cotta  vase.  To  the  left  of  the  window  and 
high  up  on  the  wall  is  a  wooden  figure  of  Osiris;  below  this  are  five 
sacred  iirei  in  bronze,  a  wooden  Osiris  and  a  bronze  Osiris.  Finally,  on 
glass  case  six  stands  a  wooden  Osiris;  beside  this  figure,  and  standing 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM  277 

on  glass  cases  five  and  seven  respectively,  are  two  cats,  one  in  wood 
and  the  other  in  bronze. 

Funeral  Hall. — The  first  glass  case  of  the  cabinet  to  the  left  contains 
forty-one  fnneral  statuettes  called  Usebtin  (that  is,  respondentes) ,  be- 
cause the  Egyptians  believed  that  they  helped  the  dead  in  their  labors 
beyond  the  tomb.  Owing  to  this  belief,  they  were  placed  in  great  num- 
bers on  graves,  and  all  of  them  contained  Chapter  vi  of  the  "Book  of 
the  Dead."  One  of  these  statuettes  still  rests  in  the  sandstone  coffin.  In 
the  second  glass  case  are  twenty-eight  complete  funeral  statuettes,  and 
five  others  of  which  only  the  lower  part  has  been  preserved.  The  third 
glass  case  of  the  central  cabinet  contains  twentj'-four  terracotta 
funeral  cones,  which  were  substituted  for  the  ancient  funeral  offer- 
ing of  grain  bread.  Below  are  preserved  three  wooden  cases  con- 
taining funeral  statuettes  and  some  painted  sections  of  similar  cases. 
In  the  fourth  glass  case  are  exhibited  four  small  glass  vases  with  long 
necks  and  one  of  white  alabaster.  Objects  of  funeral  adornment,  con- 
sisting of  small  vases,  necklaces  of  turquoise  blue  enamel,  three  neck- 
laces of  stone  scarabs,  a  bracelet  of  gold  and  two  gilded  slats  with  in- 
scriptions, are  also  found  here.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  glass  case  are 
sections  of  small  painted  caskets.  The  fifth  glass  case  is  devoted  to 
the  collection  of  scarabs.  On  the  third  shelf  we  see  the  honorary 
scarab  of  Queen  Tii,  wife  of  Amenophis  III  (eighteenth  dynasty),  to- 
gether with  ten  other  scarabs  and  a  chalk  impression  of  the  inscription 
on  another  scarab.  The  lower  two  shelves  contain  ninety-four  scarabs 
of  various  sizes.  The  sixth  glass  case  contains  lamps,  bronze  vases  and 
funeral  ornaments.  ^Yorthy  of  notice  is  the  sandstone  figure  of  a  dead 
man  standing  in  his  tomb.  Here  also  are  many  bronze  mirrors  and  five 
discs  with  white  rosettes.  Many  of  these  objects  used  as  funeral  orna- 
ments are  of  domestic  origin.  In  the  lower  section  are  preserved 
grains  in  eight  Canopic  vases. 

The  seventh  glass  case  of  the  cabinet  to  the  right  contains  forty-four 
funeral  statuettes  in  wood,  alabaster  and  enamel.  The  eighth  glass 
case  contains  twenty-four  funeral  statuettes,  of  which  some  are  from 
the  tomb  of  Seti  I,  father  of  Barneses  II;  almost  all  are  of  wood.  Espe- 
cially noteworthy  is  the  funeral  statuette  of  Prince  Ka-em-uas,  son  of 
Bameses  II  (nineteenth  dynasty),  whose  name  is  painted  on  the 
enamel.    In  the  middle  of  the  room  is  a  painted  mummy-coffin. 

On  the  wall  containing  the  window^  to  the  left  is  glass  case  nine. 
This  contains  domestic  objects  which  were  used  as  funeral  ornaments: 
baskets,  three  wooden  chairs,  seven  insoles,  three  funeral  statuettes 
resting  in  a  small  casket,  and  a  statuette  of  sandstone.  The  tenth  glass 
case  contains  fragments  of  the  canvases  in  which  the  mummy  of  Queen 


278 


THE  VATICAN 

7^     y 


^  Y 


>Wi^' 


Lion  from  the  Mdiiumcnt  of  Nectanebo  II,  last  of  the  Pharaohs 
(Fourth  Century  B.C.) 

Nefertari,  wife  of  Rameses  II  (nineteenth  dynasty),  and  that  of  Prince 
Khopeshef,  son  of  Rameses  III  (twentieth  dynasty),  were  wrapped. 
Lids  of  painted  caskets,  two  funeral  statuettes  in  wood,  and  two  others 
resting  on  a  casket  are  also  exhibited  here.  On  the  central  cabinet  rest 
four  or  five  fragments  of  petrified  wood. 

First  Room  of  the  Papyri. — This  room  contains  ten  papyri  enclosed 
in  wooden  frames.  Only  the  most  noteworthy  can  be  referred  to  here. 
On  the  left-hand  wall  is  a  hieratic  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead" 
(No.  11),  belonging  to  Neskem,  whose  mother  was  Set-ar-bant.  Begin- 
ning at  the  right,  we  meet  Chapters  xxvi,  xxx,  c,  cxxv,  and  finally  the 
scene  of  the  Judgment  (Saite  period).  In  this  Judgment  scene,  which 
is  fairly  well  preserved,  we  can  see  the  tribunal  of  Osiris  and  the  figure 
of  the  dead  Set-ar-bant,  who  is  introduced  into  the  room  where  are 
placed  before  Osiris  those  scales  in  which  the  deeds  of  the  dead  are 
weighed.  On  the  back  wall  is  a  hieroglyphic  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of 
the  bead"  (No.  7).  It  belonged  to  Amen-em-apt,  son  of  Abai  (eigh- 
teenth dynasty),  and  contains  part  of  Chapters  i,  xvii,  xviii  and  clxxxi. 
It  is  in  a  very  fragmentary  condition,  and  its  headings  are  written  in 
red.  On  the  right-hand  wall  is  a  hieratic  papyrus  (No.  6),  with  magic 
text  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty;  both  the  beginning  and  the  end  are 
missing,  only  five  fragments  having  been  preserved.  The  papyrus  con- 
tains headings  in  red.  No.  5  is  a  hieratic  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the 
Dead,"  belonging  to  the  priestess  of  Ammon,  li-mut  (twenty-second 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MUSEUM  279 

dynasty) ;  this  papyrus  also  has  red  headings.  Near  by  on  the  same 
wall  is  a  hieratic  fragment  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  belonging  to  the 
woman  Ta  Arpit  (Saite  period);  to  the  right  we  see  the  scene  of  the 
Judgment.  On  the  wall  containing  the  window  we  see,  to  the  left,  two 
hieroglyphic  papyri  of  the  "Book  of  the  Duat"  {i.e.,  of  the  Nether 
World).  Below  are  nineteen  fragments  of  ostraca  in  demotic  and  Cop- 
tic characters,  contained  in  a  wooden  casket  covered  with  glass. 

Second  Hall  of  the  Papyrl — Low  down  on  the  wall  to  the  left  is  No. 
35,  a  fragment  of  a  funeral  hieroglyphic  papyrus  with  sacred  amulets; 
here  also  are  six  demotic  fragments.  On  the  rear  wall,  beginning  low 
down  on  the  left  hand,  are:  No.  32,  a  papyrus  with  a  scene  from  the 
"Book  of  the  Duat,"  representing  the  punishment  of  the  damned;  No. 
23,  a  hieratic  papyrus  with  sacred  funeral  text  of  Chonsu-Tot,  son  of 
Patu-asar  and  Sat-Chonsu  (of  late  origin);  a  well-preserved  hiero- 
glyphic papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  which  belonged  to  Asit-urt, 
daughter  of  Na-asit,  and  contains  on  the  left  the  Judgment  scene  (Saite 
period ) ;  a  hieratic  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead"  of  Nes-chonsu, 
priestess  of  Ammon  (of  late  origin);  a  badly  preserved  hieroglyphic 
papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  belonging  to  Hor,  son  of  Ta-sat- 
Kem  (twenty-second  dynasty);  three  hieratic  fragments  of  accounts 
kept  by  a  scribe  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  On  the  upper  portion  of 
the  wall  on  the  right  hand  are  hieratic  fragments.  Low  down  is  the 
fragmentary  hieratic  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  belonging  to 
the  priestess  of  Ammon,  Asit-ur.  On  the  lower  part  of  the  wall  con- 
taining the  window  are  a  hieratic  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead," 
belonging  to  the  priest  of  Ammon,  Pa-tu-amen-neb-res-taui;  a  rather 
fragmentary  hieroglyphic  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  belong- 
ing to  the  scribe  of  the  treasury,  Kenen-hor  (nineteenth  dynasty);  a 
funeral  hieratic  papyrus  of  Hor  (of  late  origin). 

Third  Hall  of  the  Papyrl — In  this  last  hall  is  exhibited  under  glass, 
in  two  large  cases,  the  most  complete  papyrus  of  the  "Book  of  the 
Dead"  possessed  by  the  Museum.  It  contains  thirty-one  large  squares, 
written  in  hieratic  characters  with  painted  scenes,  and  comes  from  the 
tomb  of  a  priest  named  Pa-chen-ah  (twenty-sixth  dynasty).  In  the 
walls  of  this  same  room  are  inserted  some  sculptures  and  cuneiform  in- 
scriptions obtained  during  the  excavations  of  Nineveh.  The  most  re- 
markable are:  No.  26,  Assyrian  deity;  No.  23,  assault  on  a  city  during 
the  war  of  Sennacherib;  No.  19,  cuneiform  inscriptions  from  the  Palace 
of  Sargon;  No.  18,  another  similar  inscription  from  the  same  palace; 
No.  8,  sacred  tree  with  the  name  of  King  Assur-nazir-habal.  Here  may 
also  be  seen  an  inscription  in  Nabataean  characters,  dating  from  the 
first  century  of  our  era.    Finally,  high  up  in  the  hall  are  fixed  some 


280  THE  VATICAN 

Mussulman  inscriptions  in  Cufic  characters  (ancient  or  early  Arabic). 

The  oldest  of  these  inscriptions  dates  from  the  year  1133  of  our  era. 

Hall  of  Roman  Imitations. — The  monuments  in  this  hall  date  mostly 
from  the  first  period  of  the  Empire  (first  two  centuries  of  our  era),  and 
are  very  important  for  the  study  of  the  imitation  style  of  the  Roman 
artists,  who  strove  to  reproduce  the  Egyptian  type  while  maintaining 
the  form  of  Classical  art.  This  section  surpasses  all  the  other  sections 
in  the  number  and  excellence  of  the  monuments,  most  of  which  have 
been  secured  from  the  Villa  of  Hadrian,  near  Tivoli.  Antinous,  Had- 
rian's favorite,  is  represented  as  an  Egyptian  god  in  a  colossal  statue, 
which,  on  account  of  its  beauty,  is  also  called  the  "Egyptian  Apollo." 
Near  the  wall  opposite  the  window  is  No.  27,  a  large  recumbent  study 
of  the  River  Nile,  who  leans  his  arm  on  a  Sphinx,  symbolizing  Egypt. 
The  latter  holds  in  front  between  her  claws  an  amphora,  the  emblem 
of  the  beneficent  inundation  of  the  sacred  river.  This  statue  was  se- 
cured from  the  Museo  Capitolino.  In  the  middle  of  the  hall  is  the 
reproduction  of  a  portion  of  the  obelisk  erected  by  Emperor  Domitian, 
which  stands  to-day  in  the  middle  of  the  magnificent  Piazza  Navona, 
above  the  Fountain  of  Bernini.  With  this  are  united  some  fragments 
of  the  original  monument,  namely,  a  large  portion  of  the  cusp  with  a 
figure  of  the  Emperor  in  front  of  various  divinities,  and  also  a  piece  of 
the  southern  surface  of  the  obelisk.  On  the  last  fragment  may  be  seen 
some  hieroglyphic  characters,  which  have  been  completed  in  this 
model.  On  the  side  of  the  model  have  been  painted  the  royal  car- 
touches of  the  Emperors  Vespasian,  Titus  and  Domitian.  They  are 
placed  in  the  same  order  as  that  in  which  they  are  found  on  the  cor- 
responding sides  of  the  original  obelisk.  A  sample  of  the  numerous 
sculptures  in  this  hall  is  given  on  page  276,  where  our  illustration 
shows  an  Egyptian  priestess  holding  a  table  of  sacred  offerings,  while 
on  each  side  is  seen  a  Canopic  vase.  These  vases  derive  their  form 
from  the  antique  funeral  vases  which  were  used  to  contain  the  viscera 
of  the  corpses,  but  which,  in  the  period  of  imitation,  were  supposed  to 
represent  the  god  Canopus  of  Alexandrine  origin.  In  this  hall  may  be 
also  seen  the  following  monuments:  a  very  fine  basalt  statue  repre- 
senting the  Dea  Isityches,  that  is,  Isis-Fortuna  (No.  28 A);  a  basalt 
hermes  of  the  goddess  Isis  and  the  bull  Apis  (No.  46) ;  statue  of  the  god 
Anubis,  represented  as  Mercury  (No.  49);  colossal  statue  of  the  veiled 
goddess  Isis,  obtained  from  the  Iseum  of  the  Campus  Martins  (No.  50) ; 
awesome  figure  of  the  god  Bes  (No.  63);  two  sacred  crocodiles,  one  in 
marble  and  the  other  in  basalt;  granite  figure  of  a  crouching  baboon 
(No.  68  A) .  On  the  base  of  the  last,  which  was  obtained  from  the  Iseum 
of  the  Campus  Martins,  is  a  Greek  inscription  with  the  name  of  the  artist. 


THE  GREGORIAN  ETRUSCAN  MUSEUM 

}uis  remarkable  collection  occupies  the  second  floor 
of  the  building  which  stands  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Cortile  delta  Pigna.  In  the  seventeenth  century  and 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  the  suite  of  rooms  on 
this  floor  was  known  as  the  Appartamenlo  di  Ritiro, 
or  di  Belvedere.  It  was  given  the  former  name  be- 
cause the  Popes  w^ere  wont  to  retire  thither  for  rest, 
and  derived  the  latter  title  from  the  fact  that  it  looked 
out  on  the  huge  court  which  was  known  as  the  Cortile  di  Belvedere 
until  it  was  divided  by  Sixtus  V.  Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  in  the  reign  of  Pius  VI,  Cardinal  Francis  Xavier  Zelada,  Li- 
brarian and  Secretary  of  State,  had  his  quarters  here,  which  became 
known  as  the  Appartamenlo  Zelada.  After  his  tenure  of  office  these 
rooms  were  still  occupied  by  the  Cardinal  Librarian,  and  such  con- 
tinued to  be  the  case  until  Pius  VII  incorporated  them  in  the  Museums. 
This  last  fact  is  commemorated  in  an  inscription,  dating  from  the  year 
1829,  which  may  be  read  on  the  wall  of  the  room  containing  the  Rego- 
lini-Galassi  Tomb. 

It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  say  at  present  what  pieces  of  sculpture  were 
placed  in  these  rooms  originally,  and  in  November,  1836,  when  the 
Museum  was  under  discussion,  we  find  no  mention  whatever  of  sculp- 
tures, but  of  many  smaller  objects,  such  as  vases,  terra-cottas,  small 
bronzes  and  gold-work,  which  had  been  collected  by  various  Camer- 
lenghi  and  placed  here  as  the  nucleus  of  a  museum.  This  Museum,  the 
formation  of  which  was  approved  at  the  end  of  1836  and  which  was 
formally  opened  on  February  2,  1837,  was  called  the  "Gregorian"  after 
its  founder,  Gregory  XVI,  and  the  title  "Etruscan"  was  added,  first,  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  Museum  at  the  Lateran  founded  by  the  same  Pon- 
tiff, and,  secondly,  to  define  the  special  purpose  which  it  was  to  serve. 
A  more  correct  title  would  have  been  "Antiquarium  of  the  Vatican  Mu- 
seum," or  "Museum  of  Classical  Antiquities,"  since  the  strictly  Etrus- 
can objects  formed  only  a  small  portion  of  the  collection,  and  the 
dominant  idea  in  its  formation  was  to  furnish  more  suitable  and  safer 
quarters  for  the  smaller,  more  fragile  or  more  precious  objects,  which 
could  not  without  grave  risk  be  exhibited  in  the  spacious  rooms  of 

[2813 


282 


THE  VATICAN 


Objects  found  in  the  Regolini-Galassi  Tomb   (Seventh  Century  B.C.) 


THE  GREGORIAN  ETRUSCAN  MUSEUM  283 

the  Sculpture  Gallery.  When  it 
was  opened  the  Museum  com- 
prised the  small  vestibule  and  the 
rooms  overlooking  the  Cortile 
delta  Pigna,  but  soon  after  1838 
other  rooms  were  added  on  the 
northern  side,  including  the  Hall 
of  the  Bronzes  and  the  hall  now 
occupied  by  the  Regolini-Galassi 
Tomb.  Later,  in  1903,  when  Leo 
XllI  acquired  the  Falcioni  Collec- 
tion from  Viterbo,  the  room  im- 
mediately beyond  the  last-named 
hall  was  added;  this  has  been  since 
known  as  the  Leonine  Hall. 

Step  by  step  with  the  increase  of 
space  proceeded  the  accumulation 
of  exhibits,  but  unfortunately  the 
plan  adhered  to  in  all  museums 
during  the  first  half  of  the  last 
century  was  followed:  the  objects 
were  grouped  according  to  classes 
(regardless  of  their  relation  to  other  objects  found  with  them),  and 
were  arranged  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  decorations  of  the  halls  or 
rooms  in  which  they  stood.  This  method  of  arranging  objects  pre- 
vailed until  very  recent  times.  The  first  three  rooms  were  devoted  to 
sarcophagi,  funeral  urns  of  travertine  or  alabaster,  and  fragments  of 
sculpture;  the  fourth  room  was  allotted  exclusively  to  terra-cotta 
objects;  the  fifth,  sixth,  seventh  and  eighth  rooms  were  given  over  to 
pottery;  bronzes  and  jewelry  occupied  the  ninth  room;  copies  of  the 
paintings  found  in  some  tombs  at  Tarquinii,  rough  terra-cotta  and 
bucchero  vases,  with  wine  jars  of  the  seventh  and  sixth  centuries  b.c, 
were  exhibited  in  the  tenth  room;  the  Falcioni  Collection  was  placed 
in  the  eleventh,  and  some  bronze  ornaments  from  Bolsena  and  a  repro- 
duction of  a  chamber  tomb  in  the  twelfth. 

Such  an  arrangement  can  be  justified  onlj^  when  the  antiquities  ex- 
hibited are  of  uncertain  origin,  and  can  never  be  defended  in  the  case 
of  correlated  objects  forming  a  separate  group  and  described  in  detail 
when  excavated.  Hence  the  directors  of  the  Gregorian  Etruscan  Mu- 
seum, with  the  encouragement  and  cooperation  of  the  general  admin- 
istration of  the  Vatican  Museums,  have  undertaken  a  fundamental 
rearrangement  of  the  exhibits — a  difficult  task  requiring  much  work 


Golden  Armlet  from  Regolini-Galassi  Tomb 
(Seventh  Century  b.c.) 


284 


THE  VATICAN 


Golden  Rere-piece  from  Kegolini-Galassi  Tomb  (Seventh  Century  B.C.) 

of  a  technical  and  practical  nature  and  much  time  to  carry  through 
successfully.  One  of  the  first  results  of  this  work  has  been  the  proper 
arrangement  of  the  objects  found  in  the  famous  Regolini-Galassi 
Tomb,  discovered  at  Cervetri  in  1836,  which,  in  its  relation  to  the  his- 
tory of  Etruscan  civilization,  has  an  importance  not  inferior  to  that  of 
the  tombs  discovered  by  Schliemann  at  Mycenae.    Thanks  to  the  studies 


THE  GREGORIAN  ETRUSCAN  MUSEUM 


285 


Amphora  made  by  Exechias,  showing  Ajax  and 
Achilles  playing  dice   (Sixth  Century  B.C.) 


Red-flgurod  Attic  Amphora  with  full-length 
figure  of  Achilles 


and  researches  of  Professor  Pinza,  it  has  been  possible  to  reconstruct, 
from  the  fragments  preserved,  the  chariot,  the  wooden  chair  covered 
with  bronze  plates  with  incised  ornamentation,  and  the  rest  of  the  fur- 
niture or  trappings  buried  with  the  corpse.  And  whereas  these  objects 
were  formerly  shown  separately, — the  gold  with  the  gold,  the  bronze 
with  the  bronze  and  the  terra-cottas  with  the  terracottas, — it  is  now 
possible  to  see  in  the  tenth  room  (opened  to  the  public  at  the  time  of 
the  International  Archaeological  Congress  in  October,  1912)  the  whole 
collection  as.sembled  in  appropriate  glass  ca.ses.  Thus  the  visitor  can 
form  a  fairly  accurate  idea  of  the  art  and  culture  which  flourished  in 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  cities  in  southern  Etruria  in  the  seventh 
century  b.c,  and  even  persons  without  any  special  interest  in  anti- 
quarian studies  cannot  fail  to  marvel  at  work  which  shows  a  correct- 
ness of  technique  and  a  wealth  of  ornamentation  which  are  worthy  of 
the  most  highly  developed  civilization. 

To  the  gold  objects  in  this  exhibit  only  a  very  few  words  can  be  de- 
voted. Especially  noteworthy  are  a  fibula,  or  brooch,  in  the  shape  of 
a  disc,  the  largest  known  specimen,  and  two  armlets  with  granulated 
ornaments.  This  style  of  ornamentation  is  a  distinctive  feature  of 
Etruscan  jewelry,  intricate  designs  being  worked  out  on  a  gold  object 
by  soldering  on  it  minute  grains  or  globules  of  gold.    There  are,  more- 


286 


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^^K.ii.  iipTiijiH  t^\$m^9^l0tm 


'J 


The  Vulci   Bowl,   showing  Hermes,  Dionysus, 
Silenus  and  Nymphs 


Terra-cotta  Objects,  including 
Frieze  in  Bold  Relief 


over,  a  large  rere-piece  of  gold  with  incised  ornaments,  which  probably 
ornamented  the  back  of  a  mantle  shaped  like  a  chasuble,  and  a  necklace 
formed  of  a  chain  from  which  hang  three  amber  discs  set  in  gold  rims. 
Attached  to  each  rim  is  a  spindle-shaped  tassel  terminating  in  a  flower. 
Among  the  silver  objects  of  note  are:  three  plates  and  a  goblet  deco- 
rated with  hunting  scenes,  the  figures  and  the  borders  being  worked  in 
gold  relief.  These  works  are  entirely  unlike  the  other  ornaments,  and 
were  therefore  probably  imported  from  the  East  by  traders. 

After  the  Regolini-Galassi  Tomb,  the  most  notable  possession  in  the 
Museum  is  the  collection  of  pottery  in  Rooms  5,  6,  7  and  8.  It  com- 
prises examples  of  Corinthian  and  Attic  work  and  specimens  from 
Apulia,  Campania  and  Etruria,  and,  though  inferior  to  some  collec- 
tions in  the  number  of  its  exhibits,  it  rivals  any  in  the  beauty  and  im- 
portance of  several  of  its  treasures.  It  is  sufficient  to  mention  here, 
among  its  black-figured  vases,  the  famous  Cyrenaic  Cup,  as  it  is  called, 
on  the  lower  part  of  which  is  depicted  a  scene  said  by  some  to  be  the 
punishment  of  Prometheus  and  by  others  to  be  that  of  Tityus  and 
Sisyphus.  There  is,  moreover,  an  amphora  with  the  trade-mark  of 
Exechias,  an  Athenian  potter  in  the  second  half  of  the  sixth  century 
B.C.;  it  shows  on  one  side  Ajax  and  Achilles  playing  dice,  and  on  the 
other  the  return  of  Castor  and  Pollux  to  their  father's  house.  Among 
the  red-figured  Attic  vases  the  principal  are:  a  large  amphora  with  a 


THE  GREGORIAN  ETRUSCAN  MUSEUM 


287 


Bronze  Statuettes  of  Boys  with  Bulla?  and  Inscriptions 

full-length  figure  of  Achilles  armed  with  cuirass  and  spear;  a  water-jar 
showing  Apollo  playing  a  lyre  while,  seated  on  a  winged  tripod,  he 
skims  over  the  surface  of  the  sea;  an  oenochoe,  or  wine-jar,  depicting 
Menelaus  grasping  his  sword  and  rushing  on  Helen,  who  takes  refuge 
near  the  statue  of  Athena,  while  Peitho  (Persuasion),  Aphrodite  and 
Eros  interpose  and  appease  the  fury  of  the  outraged  husband.  There 
is,  above  all,  a  unique  bowl  found  at  Vulci.  Seven  figures  are  painted 
on  a  white  background.  On  one  side  we  see  Hermes  carrying  the  in- 
fant Dionysus  in  his  arms  to  the  aged  Silenus,  who  is  sitting  on  a  rock, 
while  two  nymphs,  one  on  each  side  of  the  scene,  look  on.  On  the 
reverse  a  nymph,  or  Muse,  is  seated,  playing  a  lyre;  a  second  nymph 
stands  before  her,  holding  another  lyre  and  seeming  about  to  sing, 
while  a  third  wrapped  in  a  mantle  seems  to  be  making  ready  to 
dance. 

The  principal  vases  from  southern  Italy  are:  a  glorious  voluted  am- 
phora from  Apulia,  on  the  main  surface  of  which  is  seen  Triptolemus 
in  a  winged  car  drawn  by  serpents,  while  Demeter,  holding  a  torch  in 
one  hand,  offers  him  ears  of  corn  with  the  other;  a  bowl  from  Lucania 
(perhaps  the  work  of  the  famous  potter  Asteas),  depicting  a  comic 
scene  in  which  is  shown  a  woman  at  a  window  while  Zeus,  in  the  guise 
of  an  old  man  holding  a  ladder,  looks  up  at  her,  and  Hermes,  wearing 
a  wide-brimmed  hat  (petasiis)  and  holding  his  wand  (cadiiceiis)  in  one 


288  THE  VATICAN 

hand,  holds  a  lantern  in  the  other. 
These  vases  must  be  numbered 
among  the  most  beautiful  remain- 
ingspecimensof  Greek  ceramic  art. 

Among  the  funeral  monuments 
(Rooms  1,  2  and  3)  is  a  sarcopha- 
gus in  travertine,  found  at  Cer- 
vetri;  this  shows  traces  of  poly- 
chrome work  in  the  rich  figuring 
on  the  lid  and  in  the  bas-relief 
there,  which  depicts  some  festive 
ceremony,  perhaps  a  nuptial  pro- 
cession. Among  the  terra-cotta 
objects  (Room  4),  the  principal 
are  a  frieze  in  bold  relief  showing 
hints  of  Hellenic  influence,  and  a 
sepulchral  urn  (knowai  as  the  Urn 
of  Adonis),  showing  the  figure  of 
a  boy  stretched  on  his  death-bed, 
with  a  gash  in  his  left  thigh  and 
wearing  his  hunting-boots,  while  a 
hound  crouches  in  the  foreground. 
Both  of  these  monuments  are  full 
of  life  and  beauty,  and  give  evi- 
dence of  a  technique  truly  perfect. 

Chief  among  the  bronzes  (Room 
11)  are:  a  votive  biga  (two-horse 
chariot),  the  ornaments  on  the 
shaft  and  wheels  being  extremely 
well  preserved;  two  cistce,  or  cas- 
kets, one  oval  in  shape  and  orna- 
mented with  incised  designs — ele- 
gant borders  of  flowers  and  the 
battle  between  the  Amazons  under 
Penthesileia  and  the  Greeks  under  Achilles;  two  figures  of  boys,  of 
which  one  has  an  inscription  on  the  left  upper  arm  and  the  other  on 
the  right  leg,  and  an  endless  collection  of  mirrors,  candlesticks,  tripods, 
and  dishes  of  various  forms.  There  is  also  the  famous  statue  of  Mars 
found  at  Todi  in  1835,  which  bears  on  the  border  of  the  cuirass  the  name 
of  the  donor  in  the  Umbrian  language:  ahal  trutiois  dunum  dede. 

From  the  foregoing  brief  account  it  is  evident  that  the  Gregorian 
Etruscan  Museum  is  a  most  worthy  complement  and,  so  to  speak,  the 


ShiU f  Mai 


rinlH 


lip  lion 


THE  GREGORIAN  ETRUSCAN  MUSEUM  289 

crown  of  the  Sculpture  Museum.  Owing  to  the  distribution  of  the 
objects  in  the  various  halls,  and  their  comparatively  modest  number, 
the  distracted  or  weary  visitor  might  pass  them  by  without  appreciating 
the  interest,  the  rarity  and  the  importance  of  the  monuments.  But 
whosoever  visits  this  Museum  in  quiet,  receptive  mood  will  find  in  it 
vital  nourishment  equal  to  that  which  one  derives  from  the  great  works 
of  literature.  The  Etruscan  Museum  is  for  most  visitors  a  hidden  gem, 
but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  fascination  of  mystery  which  envelops  it 
wall  attract  an  ever-increasing  number  of  art-lovers  and  students,  for 
there  are  few  collections  which  promise  a  fuller  recompense  for  the 
time  and  attention  devoted  to  examining  its  unique  exhibits. 


THE  MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND 
ANCIENT  PAINTINGS 

g,sp^?^^J^^ULius  II,  the  (lella  Rovere  Pope,  during  the  ten  years 
^t^ '' ■'■'l^^ni.tli"  "^  '^'^  pontificate  (1503-1513),  collected  among  the 
laurel  and  orange  trees  and  around  the  murmuring 
fountains  in  the  Cortile  di  Belvedere  a  few  pieces  of 
ancient  sculpture.  These  were  the  nucleus  of  the 
Vatican  Museum,  which  in  the  course  of  four  cen- 
turies was  to  receive  from  the  soil  of  Rome  and  the 
surrounding  territory  many  artistic  heirlooms  of  by- 
gone ages,  w  hie  li  the  ignorance  of  intervening  centuries  had  neglected 
and  buried.  In  the  three  niches  of  the  end  wall,  to  which  Bramante 
had  lent  architectonic  grace,  were  placed  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  an  Em- 
press in  the  guise  of  a  naked  Venus,  and  the  Laocoon.  The  young  god 
seemed  about  to  hurl  himself  in  vengeance  on  mankind,  recalling  the 
image  of  Homer  which  describes  him  as  swooping  down  "like  the 
night";  Laocoon,  punished  in  himself  and  in  his  sons,  a  victim  to  the 
inexorable  vendetta  of  the  gods,  raised  his  "dread  clamor  to  the  stars," 
as  Virgil  tells  us;  and  between  the  Homeric  deity  and  the  Virgilian 
creation,  between  the  poem  that  embodied  Greece  and  that  which 
imaged  Rome,  between  the  avenging  god  and  the  chastised  mortal,  was 
personified  the  obsequious  flattery  which  worshipped  in  the  bold  pose 
of  a  Venus  a  Roman  empress — perhaps  Sallustia  Barbia  Urbiana,  the 
wife  of  Alexander  Severus.  In  front  of  the  niches,  between  the  shrubs, 
the  supposed  statue  of  the  Tigris  poured  its  inexhaustible  stream  into  a 
Roman  sarcophagus;  and  on  a  second  sarcophagus,  Ariadne,  whom 
cultured  and  popular  imagination  of  the  time  identified  as  Cleopatra, 
slept  her  restless  sleep  between  the  flight  of  a  hero  and  the  arrival  of 
a  god.  On  one  of  the  sarcophagi  was  blazoned  the  triumph  of  the 
Greeks  over  the  Amazons;  on  the  other,  the  submission  of  barbarians 
to  a  Roman  general.  Other  pieces  of  sculpture  of  less  importance  were 
scattered  here  and  there;  some  of  these  are  still  in  the  Vatican,  but 
others  have  found  their  way  to  Florence  as  the  result  of  one  or  other 
of  the  vicissitudes  which  later  befell  the  Vatican  collection.  Thus  it 
was  that  Julius  II,  the  w^arrior  Pope  who,  as  the  epigram  has  it,  laid 
down  the  keys  of  St.  Peter  to  gird  on  the  sword  of  St.  Paul,  never  ceased 
even  during  the  political  turmoil  of  his  pontificate  to  be  what  he  had 

[:29n 


292 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Gallery  of  Statues 


been  as  a  Cardinal — a  Humanist.  The  sword  of  St.  Paul  occasionally 
rested  on  the  codex  of  the  man  of  letters.  Some  of  these  marbles, 
indeed,  belonged  to  the  private  collection  which  he  had  made  as  a 
Cardinal  at  his  palace  at  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli. 

In  turning  his  eyes  to  Classic  antiquity,  Julius  II  simply  continued 
the  work  of  his  Humanist  predecessors  from  Nicholas  V  to  Innocent 
VIII.  Hitherto,  however.  Humanism  had  found  an  entry  to  the  Vatican 
only  in  a  literary  guise.  The  codices  of  the  Library  spoke  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  of  gods  and  heroes,  only  to  those  who  sought  out  their 
pages;  but  Apollo,  the  Venus  Empress,  and  the  Laocoon  displayed  their 
virile,  soft  or  tortured  beauty  to  the  eyes  of  all  who  passed  through  the 
Cortile  di  Belvedere.  Julius's  predecessor,  Sixtus  IV  delta  Rovere 
(1471-1484),  had  not  ventured  to  invade  the  austerity  of  the  Vatican 
with  such  pagan  images;  for,  when  he  gave  Rome  its  first  collection 
of  ancient  art — a  collection  of  bronzes — he  relegated  it  far  from  the 
Vatican  to  the  Capitoline  Hill.  The  Capitol  had  been  the  hill  of  the 
glory  that  was  Rome,  just  as  the  Vatican  region  embraced  the  valley 
of  Christian  martyrdom. 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    293 


ilK-  Ciallny  ol  Slalius 

Hence  we  cannot  withhold  our  admiration  from  the  Pontiff  who 
committed  this  breach  of  ecclesiastical  austerity  with  the  same  courage 
and  success  with  which  he  nerved  his  army  at  the  siege  of  Mirandola 
when  he  changed  the  mitre  for  the  helmet.  His  victory  here  was  a 
victory  of  the  spirit  which  was  destined  to  have  a  far  more  lasting 
effect  than  his  victory  of  arms.  Nor  can  we  help  admiring  the  in- 
vincible and  ageless  youth  of  the  art  of  the  ancients  which  captivated 
the  stern  Pontiff's  heart,  and  under  his  auspices  penetrated  where  for 
centuries  its  strength  and  its  youth  had  been  ignored. 

But  even  more  marvellous  was  the  slow  evolution  of  the  Italic  spirit, 
which,  bending  itself  with  the  Renaissance  to  the  contemplation  of  the 
joys  of  life,  had  first  led  Nicholas  V  (1447-1455)  to  build  on  this  very 
spot  a  battlemented  tower  whence  the  eye  could  roam  at  will  over  the 
Roman  Campagna  and  find  in  the  beauties  of  nature  the  source  of  art. 
A  few  decades  later  this  spirit  had  the  tower  torn  down  to  make  way 
for  the  Casino  of  Innocent  VIII  (1484-1492),  with  the  graceful  archi- 
tectonic lines  given  it  by  Giacomo  di  Pietrasanta  and  the  pictorial  deco- 
•  rations  of  Mantegna  and  Pinturicchio.    This  same  Italic  spirit  in  Julius 


294  THE  VATICAN 

II  won  an  entry  into  the  Cortile  near  this  Casino  for  the  first  pieces  of 
ancient  sculpture.  Contemporaneous  Christian  art  had  paved  the  way 
for  the  art  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome.  Certainly,  these  marbles 
placed  in  niches  or  adorning  fountains  were  there  to  fulfil  a  decorative 
purpose  rather  than  as  objects  of  admiration;  they  were  part  of  the 
architectural  ensemble,  so  to  speak — an  adjunct  of  the  art  of  Giacomo 
di  Pietrasanta,  of  Mantegna  and  of  Pinturicchio.    To-day,  however. 


Tlu'  (lalkry  of  Statues 

owing  to  the  successive  alterations,  the  house  built  by  Innocent  VIII 
has  almost  disappeared:  save  a  few  figures,  but  little  remains  of  its 
frescoes,  whereas  a  whole  army  of  statues  have  come  to  join  the  Apollo, 
the  Laocoon  and  the  Venus  Empress  of  the  Cortile  di  Belvedere.  The 
art  of  the  ancients,  which  stole  in  timidly  as  a  handmaiden,  now  rules 
as  a  queen. 

The  events  which  caused  the  present  Vatican  Museum  to  develop 
from  the  few  marbles  introduced  by  Julius  II  for  decorative  purposes, 
reflect  the  intellectual  and  political  experiences  through  which  the 
Papacy  and  Church  have  passed.    In  so  far  as  the  Renaissance  of  an- 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    295 

cient  art  is  concerned,  Julius  II  certainly  introduced  it  into  the  Vatican. 
At  this  period  the  Renaissance  had  already  devoted  about  a  century  to 
the  study  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature.  Through  the  works  of  the 
ancient  poets,  philosophers,  historians  and  rhetoricians  a  better  real- 
ization of  the  life  of  Classical  times  had  been  secured  between  the 
Trecento  and  the  Quattrocento,  for  literature  is  always  the  surest  and 
quickest  means  of  establishing  an  intellectual  understanding  between 


The  Sala  della  Rotonda 

different  ages.  And  when  literature  had  done  its  part,  when  it  had 
awakened  an  admiration  for  the  greatness  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome, 
Classical  monuments — first  the  buildings  and  then  the  masterpieces  of 
sculpture — might  finally  claim  their  meed  of  appreciation. 

The  buildings  of  ancient  Rome  were  for  the  most  part  in  ruins,  and 
had  either  been  allowed  to  remain  as  pathetic  witnesses  of  a  civilization 
gone  forever,  or  had  been  rifled  for  their  marbles,  lead  and  bricks,  just 
as  if,  instead  of  being  the  ideal  patrimony  of  a  whole  people,  they  had 
really  belonged  to  nobody.  Now  they  began  to  be  cherished,  studied, 
measured  and  hypothetically  restored,  because  their  greatness  and 
grandeur  offered  a  living  commentary  on  the  words  of  the  writers. 


296 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Hall  of  the  Greek  Cross 

Finally  came  the  sculptures.  To  appreciate  them  properly  presup- 
posed not  only  a  particular  quality  of  imagination  of  a  high  order — 
a  gift  which  is  rare,  and  is  usually  the  fruit  of  a  lofty  intellect — but 
also  a  thorough  preparation  of  the  mind,  which  could  be  attained  only 
through  the  long  study  of  Classical  literature.  It  was  an  easier  matter 
for  a  Quattrocento  Christian  to  harmonize  the  philosophy  of  Plato 
with  his  religious  instructions,  or  to  link  the  greatness  of  contempora- 
neous Rome  with  the  glorious  Rome  of  Livy's  pages,  than  to  appreciate 
the  unveiled  beauty  of  an  Apollo  or  a  Venus.  Between  him  and  this 
appreciation  lay  the  world  of  Romanesque  and  Gothic  art,  which,  in  its 
exclusive  preoccupations  with  the  ideal,  had  overlooked  the  form,  or 
had  above  all  ignored  the  human  body.  When  Romanesque  and  Gothic 
art  had  run  their  course,  and  when  the  renaissance  of  Christian  relig- 
ious art  began,  it  was  indeed  possible  for  Nicolas  Poussin  to  hint  in 
his  reliefs  at  the  figures  on  the  Roman  sarcophagi,  and  for  the  artists 
of  that  period  to  look  on  nature  with  eyes  different  from  their  pre- 
decessors'— paganized  eyes,  one  might  say.  But  ancient  art  as  a  whole 
required  a  much  more  radical  change  in  sentiment  and  taste  than  that 
which  was  required  for  the  appreciation  of  ancient  literature.  This 
change  took  place  later.  And  whereas  in  the  second  half  of  the  Tre- 
cento and  the  first  half  of  the  Quattrocento  great  libraries  had  been 
instituted  and  enriched  with  Greek  and  Latin  codices — museums  of 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    297 


Portico  of  the  Cortile  Ottagono 

literature,  as  one  might  call  them, — it  was  not  until  the  second  half 
of  the  Quattrocento  that  the  collections  of  sculpture,  or  museums  of 
art,  began. 

Growth  of  the  Museum. — It  chanced  that  a  Cardinal  who  had  made 
one  of  these  collections — Giuliano  della  Rovere — became  Pope.  Thus 
the  Vatican,  which  as  an  institution  founded  for  all  time  could  offer 
the  greatest  promise  of  continuity  of  development,  entered  into  a  race 
which  had  previously  interested  only  private  individuals  (cardinals  or 
princes),  w^hose  work  had  for  the  most  part  been  interrupted  at  their 
death.  Leo  X  (1513-1521)  and  Clement  VII  (1523-1534),  the  two 
Medici  Popes,  had  already  family  traditions  urging  them  to  keep  up 
the  work  begun  by  Julius  II,  since  the  Medici  were  the  first  among 
the  princes  of  Italy  to  form  a  collection  of  their  own  at  Florence.  Paul 
III  Farnese  (1534-1549)  continued  in  the  footsteps  of  his  predecessors. 
And,  while  it  is  true  that  at  this  time  not  many  pieces  of  sculpture  were 
sent  to  join  the  Apollo  and  the  Laocoon,  all  that  were  sent  were  excel- 
lent. Leo  X  is  responsible  for  the  Nile  group;  Clement  VII  for  the 
Torso  of  Apollonius,  associated  with  the  name  of  Michelangelo;  Paul 
III  for  the  so-called  Antinous,  that  is,  the  statue  of  Hermes  as  a  youth. 

But  while  these  Popes  were  indulging  their  Italic  nature  in  the  ad- 
miration of  Classical  art,  clouds  were  collecting  to  the  north,  and  the 
storm  of  the  Reformation  was  at  hand.    To  cite  these  "shameless" 


298  THE  VATICAN 

marbles  as  the  final  proof  that  the  Church  and  the  Papacy  had  fallen 
away  from  the  purity  and  humility  of  the  original  Christian  doctrine, 
was  a  most  unfortunate  error.  They  proved  only  that  the  Pope,  while 
the  Shepherd  of  the  Church,  was  besides  a  secular  prince,  and  apprecia- 
tive of  natural  joys.  The  marbles  were  indeed  in  the  Vatican,  and  most 
of  them  remained  there;  to  exile  them  now  would  not  have  helped  to 
reconquer  Protestant  Europe,  so  that  only  a  few,  and  those  not  the 


The  Cortile  Ottagono 

best  (thanks  to  the  Pope's  discrimination),  passed  to  other  collections 
outside  Rome.  But  from  this  moment  the  collecting  activity  of  the 
Vatican  stops.  It  was  the  time  of  the  Counter-Reformation  and  the 
Council  of  Trent.  And  even  though,  in  the  face  of  the  attacks  of 
Puritanism,  which  would  destroy  even  Christian  art,  the  Council  de- 
fended this  art  and  declared  that  a  love  of  art  was  not  a  material  wor- 
ship of  images  but  a  contemplation  of  the  noble  works  of  God  or 
of  works  executed  under  his  inspiration,  it  would  have  been  excessive 
audacity  to  go  on  collecting  within  the  walls  of  the  Vatican  sculptures 
in  defence  of  which  no  religious  need  could  be  cited,  but  which,  on  the 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    299 


The  Hall  of  the  Muses 

contrary,  spoke  only  of  a  pagan  civilization  and  a  religion  the  Church 
had  perforce  to  destroy. 

But  not  even  the  threats  of  Puritanism  could  kill  the  spirit  of  the 
Renaissance  that  had  come  to  life  in  Italy.  The  Pope,  as  head  of  the 
Church,  ceased  to  add  to  the  Vatican  collection  of  marbles,  but,  as  an 
earthly  prince  and  an  Italian,  he  built  himself  far  from  his  spiritual 
home  a  villa  in  which  he  might  indulge  his  passion  for  both  ancient  and 
contemporary  art.  And  thus  it  came  about  that  Julius  III  del  Monte 
(1550-1555)  extended  from  the  beginning  of  the  Flaminian  Way  to 
the  Milvian  Bridge  and  to  the  Parioli,  between  the  river  and  the  hill, 
his  wonderful  villa,  to  which  Michelangelo,  Vasari,  Vignola,  Ammanati 
and  Baronino  lent  their  architectural  skill,  while  Prospero  Fontana 
and  Taddeo  Zucchero  were  entrusted  with  its  pictorial  decoration. 
Here  were  collected,  along  every  walk  and  around  each  fountain,  an- 
cient statues  and  reliefs  exceeding  far  in  number  those  treasured  in 
the  Vatican  itself.  Yet  the  venerable  Pontiff,  if  not  in  his  spirit,  must 
have  borne  at  least  in  his  body  the  memory  of  the  struggle  between  the 
Reformation  and  the  Church;  for,  even  if  he  could  forget  that  he  was 
Paul  Ill's  delegate  at  the  Council  of  Trent,  he  must  assuredly  have 
remembered  the  anger  of  the  Lanzichenecchi  during  the  siege  of  Rome 
in  1527,  when  he  nearly  lost  his  life. 


300 


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The  Hall  of  the  Animnis 


The  lf:ili  (if  tlie  Animals 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    301 

Sixtus  V  Peretti  (1585-1590),  a  vigorous  Pontiff  famous  as  a  pro- 
tector of  agriculture  and  industry  and  as  a  restorer  of  church  disci- 
pline, can  hardly  be  conceived  as  a  restorer  of  Classical  art.  Yet  he 
displayed  no  less  eagerness  than  preceding  PontitTs  in  collecting  old 
marbles  in  his  Villa  Montalto.    If  some  of  these  (such  as  the  Caryatid, 


1  he  }Iall  of  the  Animals 

now  in  the  Braccio  Nuovo,  or  the  seated  Greek  statues,  said  to  be  of 
Posidippus  and  Menander)  found  their  way  at  a  later  date  to  the  Vati- 
can Museum — just  as  some  of  the  statues  from  Pope  Julius's  villa  also 
found  their  way  thither — this  should  be  referred  to  a  kind  of  destiny 
which  willed  that  these  Pontiffs,  even  when  they  acted  as  private 
individuals,  should  work  for  the  ultimate  glory  of  the  Papacy.  For, 
besides  the  reaction  of  the  Reformation,  another  cause  halted  the 
growth  of  the  Vatican  collections,  namely.  Papal  nepotism.  Under 
the  inspiration  of  the  Popes,  members  of  their  families  began  to  build 
villas  and  form  private  collections  of  marbles  for  their  own  gratifica- 
tion and  glory.  Julius  Ill's  collection  was  indeed  of  such  a  character, 
and,  if  his  brother  Baldwin  and  his  nephew  Fabian  did  not  reap  much 
profit  from  it,  it  was  because  the  Pope  had  lavished  the  funds  of  the 
Papacy  on  his  own  villa.  Pius  IV  (1559-1566)  interfered  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  complicated  will  of  his  predecessor,  upholding  the  claims 
of  the  Holy  See;  but  while  he  gave  lands  and  villas  to  the  Medici  of 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Gallery  of  the  Candelabra 

Milan  and  to  the  Borromeo  family,  only  one  statue — that  of  the  sophist 
Elios  Aristides — entered  the  Vatican,  and  this  was  exhibited,  not  in  the 
Belvedere,  but  in  the  Library. 

To  Cardinal  Scipio  Borghese,  nephew  of  Paul  V  (1605-1621),  Cardi- 
nal Ludovico  Ludovisi,  nephew  of  Gregory  XV  (1621-1623),  and 
Cardinal  Camillo  Pamphilj,  nephew  of  Innocent  X  (1644-1655)  are  due 
the  Borghese,  Ludovisi  and  Panfdi  villas  and  collections.  And  thus  it 
would  have  come  to  pass  that,  notwithstanding  its  masterpieces,  the 
Vatican  collection  would  have  remained  a  modest  adjunct  of  the  Cor- 
tile  di  Belvedere  after  the  first  thrill  of  the  Renaissance  had  died  away, 
had  not  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  brought  about  a 
profound  change  in  the  general  attitude  towards  Classical  antiquities. 

In  1768,  Johann  Joachim  Winckelmann,  a  little  over  fifty  years  old, 
met  a  violent  death  in  Trieste,  but  he  left  an  everlasting  monument  to 
his  genius,  which  had  been  nurtured  on  the  vital  sap  of  ancient  art, 
especially  in  Rome.  This  was  his  "History  of  Ancient  Art"  ("Ge- 
schichte  der  Kunst  des  Alterthums").  Winckelmann  had  approached 
the  works  of  Greek  and  Roman  sculpture,  not  with  the  esthetic  ej^es  of 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTUT^F  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    303 


The  Gallery  of  the  Candelabra 

the  Renaissance  period,  but  permeated  with  the  historic  spirit  with 
which,  from  the  Seicento  to  the  Settecento,  men  had  begun  to  examine 
the  manifestations  of  human  activity.  The  statue,  the  relief  and  the 
engraved  gem  were  for  him  not  only  beautiful  forms  to  be  admired, 
but  also  documents  revealing  another  conception  of  nature  and  life — 
that  is,  reflecting  the  attitude  of  another  intellect  towards  the  one  and 
the  other.  To  appreciate  this  attitude,  to  make  it  live  again  in  all  its 
phases,  was  to  possess  a  true  knowledge  of  Classical  art. 

It  is  by  no  means  one  of  the  least  boasts  of  archaeology  that  the  his- 
toric spirit,  which  had  hitherto  busied  itself  with  its  researches  into 
human  actions,  had  recourse  first  to  art,  not  to  literature,  when  it  began 
the  study  of  the  intellectual  manifestations  of  mankind. 

Art  was  a  late-comer  in  the  esthetic  march  of  the  Renaissance;  it 
leads  the  way,  however,  as  the  touchstone  of  all  modern  history. 
Winckelmann's  "History  of  Ancient  Art"  appeared  long  before  any 
similar  plan  for  the  reconstruction  of  literature  occurred  to  the  minds 
of  philologists,  and  may  thus  be  said  to  have  given  a  new  impulse  to 
ancient  art.    If  Classical  sculpture  were  a  document  to  be  studied  for 


304 


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The  Gallery  of  the  Candelabra 

the  further  development  of  human  thought,  rather  than  a  thing  to  be 
admired  in  a  civilization  that  Christianity  had  supplanted,  it  might  well 
receive  a  hospitable  welcome  even  in  the  austere  halls  of  the  Vatican. 
And,  if  the  Humanist  Popes  might  be  blamed  for  laying  too  much  stress 
on  earthly  enjoyment  in  their  zeal  for  Classical  art,  no  such  charge 
could  be  brought  against  Popes  whose  aim  in  fostering  collections  of 
marbles  was  to  further  the  study  of  archaeology. 

A  new  era  for  the  Vatican  collections  began  indeed  with  Clement 
XIV  Ganganelli,  who  became  Pope  in  1769,  the  year  after  Winckel- 
mann's  death.  And  the  personality  of  Ennio  Quirino  Visconti,  the 
illustrious  archaeologist  who  with  his  father  Giovan  Battista  Antonio 
presided  over  the  formation  of  the  Pio-Clementino  Museum  in  the  pon- 
tificates of  Clement  XIV  (1769-1774)  and  Pius  VI  Braschi  (1775-1799), 
proves  conclusively,  if  proof  be  required,  the  purity  of  intentions 
which  underlay  the  new  work.  Through  the  activity  of  these  Popes 
the  small  collection  of  Julius  II,  which  could  all  be  grouped  in  the  space 
of  the  Belvedere,  developed  into  what  is  now  known  as  the  Vatican 
Sculpture  Gallery.  By  altering  a  few  rooms  and  the  chapel  of  the  Villa 
of  Innocent  VIII,  these  Popes  established  the  existing  Gallery  of  Stat- 
ues and  Hall  of  the  Busts.  The  chief  credit,  however,  is  due  to  Pius  VI, 
who  in  1775  not  only  transformed  the  Belvedere,  added  the  interior 
portico  and  the  columns,  and  built  the  Hall  of  the  Biga,  the  Hall  of  the 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    305 

Greek  Cross,  the  Rotonda,  the  Hall  of  the  Muses,  the  Hall  of  the  Ani- 
mals and  Gallery  of  Masks,  but  also  gave  its  present  form  to  the  Gallery 
of  the  Candelabra,  which  originally  was  an  open  corridor. 

The  finishing  touch  was  put  on  the  work  by  Pope  Pius  VII  Chiara- 
monti  (1800-1823),  when  in  1803  he  gave  its  final  arrangement  to  the 
Cortile  di  Belvedere,  transforming  the  atria  at  the  corners  into  cabinets, 
and  allotted  to  his  Museo  Chiaramonti  the  northern  hall  of  the  great 


The  Museo  Chiaramonti 

gallery  which  Julius  II  and  Bramante  had  built  to  connect  the  Belve- 
dere with  the  Vatican  Palace.  Finally,  between  1817  and  1821,  he  added 
the  Braccio  Nuovo,  which  runs  parallel  to  the  new  Library  and  joins 
Bramante's  gallery  with  the  opposite  wing. 

But  the  Napoleonic  storm  broke  with  equal  violence  over  the  artistic 
and  political  plans  of  Pius  VII.  After  Classical  art  had  finally  won  its 
spiritual  fight  against  the  Puritan  forces  within  and  without  the 
Church,  and  had  been  installed  with  honor  in  the  galleries  and  halls 
of  Clement  XIV  and  Pius  VI,  the  material  violence  of  Napoleon,  who 
revived  the  conduct  of  the  Roman  conquerors  of  old  when  they  spoiled 
the  Greek  cities  of  their  treasures  of  art,  stripped  these  galleries  and 
halls,  and  carried  the  booty  to  Paris.    Only  three  fine  works  of  Canova, 


306 


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Part  of  the  Braccio  Nuovo 

the  Perseus  and  the  Boxers  (Kreugas  and  Damoxenus),  were  left  in  the 
Belvedere,  and  these  were  as  dreary-looking  as  the  plaster  copies  of  the 
Apollo  and  Laocoon  which  took  the  place  of  the  originals.  Canova's 
works  were  indeed  a  genuine  echo  of  ancient  Greece,  but  the  empty 
grace  of  a  Perseus  showing  his  spoils  could  never  compensate  for  the 
godlike  advance  of  the  Apollo,  nor  did  the  brute  violence  with  which 
the  Boxers  gathered  themselves  for  their  encounter  offer  any  com- 
parison with  the  shudder  that  ran  through  the  crushed  flesh  of 
Laocoon. 

But,  just  as  it  had  triumphed  over  intellectual  oppression,  the  Vati- 
can Museum  was  destined  also  to  triumph  over  material  violence. 
After  five  years  of  exile,  the  greater  number  of  the  old  treasures  were 
restored  in  1816,  so  that  Napoleon  left  less  trace  of  his  passage  here 
than  elsewhere.  Canova's  marbles,  however,  were  retained  in  the  col- 
lection as  a  souvenir  and  in  token  of  gratitude.  For,  if  the  proximity 
of  the  masterpieces  of  Greece  overshadows  them,  they  at  least  are  po- 
litical documents  dealing  with  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Museum.  They 
are  also,  as  it  were,  a  seal  on  its  history,  for  since  the  days  of  Pius  VII 
no  chapter  has  been  added  to  it.  Gregorv  XVI  (1831-1846),  Pius  IX 
(1846-1878),  Leo  XIII  (1878-1903)  and  Pius  X  (1903-1914)  added  a 
few  pieces  here  and  there,  l)ut  the  aspect  of  the  Museum  is  unchanged. 
Gregory  XVI  devoted  himself  to  the  Etruscan  Museum,  and  Pius  IX 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS     307 


Part  of  the  Braccio  Numo 

had  but  little  time  for  things  of  art,  so  deeply  was  he  preoccupied  with 
the  clouds  on  the  political  horizon  of  his  time. 

When  we  to-day  look  back  over  the  road  the  Museum  has  travelled 
from  its  humble  beginnings  in  the  days  of  Julius  II,  we  are  forced  to 
admit  that  no  museum  in  the  world  has  such  a  remarkable  history. 
Some  museums,  like  the  Glyptothek  at  Munich,  owe  their  existence  to 
the  collecting  zeal  of  a  prince;  others,  like  the  British  Museum,  spring 
from  an  educational  function  of  the  state;  others,  like  the  National  Mu- 
seum at  Athens,  satisfy  the  patriotic  devotion  of  a  people  to  its  glorious 
past.  The  Vatican  Museum  has,  on  the  contrary,  enjoyed  the  zealous 
support  of  both  prince  and  state  and  people,  and  of  something  still 
more  important  than  all  of  these — namely,  the  world  of  Catholic  Chris- 
tendom, which  looked  towards  the  Papacy  for  its  rule  of  life.  For,  just 
as  the  Vatican  Museum  owed  its  origin  to  a  world-wide  current  of 
thought,  the  Renaissance,  it  called  its  first  halt  in  answer  to  a  Catholic 
current  of  thought,  the  Counter-Reform;  it  owed  its  new  lease  of  life 
to  the  awakening  sense  of  the  teaching  function  of  the  state,  since  the 
work  of  Clement  XIV  and  Pius  VI  in  aid  of  archaeology  can  only  be 
interpreted  as  such;  and  it  owes  its  continuity  of  existence,  throughout 
good  and  evil  fortune,  to  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  people,  who  have 
always  aided  the  Papacy  in  its  work,  recognizing  in  the  ancient  marbles 
the  documents  of  their  own  mighty  past. 


308  THE  VATICAN 

But  if  currents  of  thought  which  affected  the  whole  civilized  world; 
if  functions  of  the  state  which  were  confined  within  a  small  dominion; 
if  the  historic  pride  of  a  people,  confined  within  limits  even  smaller 
than  those  of  a  state,  have  been  co-operating  agencies  in  this  monu- 
mental work,  this  has  happened  because  the  success  of  the  work  did 
not  depend  on  the  more  or  less  brief  life  of  individual  princes,  whose 
tastes  and  predispositions  might  vary,  but  rested  on  the  organic  prin- 
cipality of  the  Papacy,  in  which  each  Pope,  bowing  his  head  humbly 


The  Braccio  Nuovo 


before  the  glorious  traditions  of  his  dynasty  and  confidently  regarding 
himself  as  the  predecessor  of  an  endless  line,  lent  his  temporary  co- 
operation in  the  work,  filled  with  trustful  strength. 

General  Character  of  the  Museum. — But  now,  after  following  the 
history  and  development  of  this  Vatican  collection,  if  we  stop  to  con- 
sider it  as  a  whole  so  as  to  grasp  its  distinctive  character,  we  must  admit 
that  from  the  esthetic  standpoint  it  is  disappointing.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  Greek  originals  and  some  excellent  Roman  works,  all  of 
the  exhibits  are  copies — and  often  mediocre  copies — of  Greek  master- 
pieces or  modest  creations  of  the  Roman  chisel. 

If  we  were  asked  what,  in  our  opinion,  would  be  the  impression 
received  by  an  ancient  Greek  or  Roman  on  entering  the  Vatican  Mu- 
seum, we  could  only  reply  that  he  would  probably  experience  the  same 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    309 

feeling  as  we  do  when  we  visit  a  museum  of  medieval  and  modern  art 
composed  of  the  works  of  the  cheap  copyists  who  infest  our  galleries 
and  those  of  the  marble-workers  who  cater  mainly  for  cemeteries. 

Unlike  the  National  Museum  at  Athens,  the  Vatican  Museum  is  not 
the  archives  of  the  creative  spirit  of  a  whole  people,  whose  original 
documents  date  back  to  the  Mycenaean  age  and  down  through  the  mid- 


OiU'  End  of  the  Braccid  Nimvo 

die  ages  of  ancient  Hellas  to  the  dawn  of  Classical  art,  tracing  this  art 
from  the  crude  essays  of  the  archaic  period  to  the  most  precious  mani- 
festations of  Greek  genius.  Neither  has  it,  in  the  midst  of  Roman 
copies,  the  little  Greek  oases  one  meets  in  the  Glyptothek  at  Munich, 
with  its  ^ginetan  sculptures;  nor,  like  the  British  Museum,  far  from 
the  sky  of  Greece,  can  it  show  the  relics  of  the  Parthenon,  the  Temple 
of  Phigalia,  the  Monument  of  the  Nereids,  and  the  Mausoleum.  The 
original  Greek  works  brought  to  Rome  after  the  conquest  have  nearly 
all  been  destroyed;  and  the  original  works  which  Roman  art  succeeded 
in  creating — honorary  reliefs — very  luckily  still  adorn  for  the  most 
part  the  monuments  for  which  they  were  intended.  Thus  the  Vatican 
Museum  had  to  be  content  with  the  scattered  parts  of  the  decorative 
works  executed  to  adorn  Roman  gardens,  squares,  baths  and  cemeteries. 


310  THE  VATICAN 

But  while  even  from  the  esthetic  point  of  view  the  Roman  copies  of 
Greek  masterpieces,  ill  treated  as  these  were  in  the  process,  call  forth 
our  admiration  and  make  us  feel  still  more  keenly  our  great  loss  in 
being  deprived  of  the  originals,  historically  the  Vatican  Museum,  just 
because  it  has  grown  up  out  of  the  very  soil  of  Rome,  has  a  value  that 
is  lacking  in  collections  formed  in  other  countries  with  works  violently 


Part  of  the  Braccio  Nuovo 

torn  from  their  native  home.  It  reveals,  if  not  the  creative  quality  of 
the  Roman  spirit,  the  attitude  which  Roman  taste  adopted  towards 
Greek  art.  In  contrast  to  the  National  Museum  at  Athens,  which  gath- 
ered the  pure  flower  of  Greek  creative  genius,  it  shows  originality  only 
in  its  discriminating  function  and  in  the  re-elaboration  of  what  it  has 
chosen.  From  this  collection  we  learn  how  Roman  genius  was  affected 
by  the  manifestations  of  Greek  genius,  and  we  carry  away  the  same 
impression  as  when  we  read  Virgil  after  Homer,  Terence  after  Me- 
nander,  and  Catullus  and  Horace  after  Sappho  and  Pindar. 

Before  the  glory  of  Rome  had  yet  unfolded  itself,  in  the  seventh  and 
sixth  centuries  before  our  era,  merchants  and  artists  from  the  East  and 
from  Greece  had  established  a  trade  in  sculptures  with  Latimn,  just  as 
they  had  previously  done  with  Etruria  and  Cami)ania.    Rich  decora- 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    311 


Seated  Apollo  Citharnpdus   (Fig.  1) 
(Archaic  Period) 


Nude 


"igure  of  Apollo  (I'ig.  2) 
(Archaic  Period) 


tions  for  tombs  and  pretentious  ornaments  for  temples  gave  evidence 
of  the  social  comfort  and  prosperity  rather  than  of  the  artistic  taste 
of  the  purchasers.  This  art,  indeed,  was  a  thing  external  to  the  real 
life  of  the  country,  and  did  not  spring  from  any  urgent  religious  need. 
The  Latin  conception  of  the  gods  and  of  death  was  altogether  un- 
touched by  the  artistic  external  trappings  with  which  trade  and  the 
fashion  of  the  moment  decked  their  religion.  Unlike  their  neighbors, 
the  Etruscans  and  Oscans,  the  Latins  were  more  moderate  in  their 
adoption  of  foreign  art.  They  remained  particularly  conservative  of 
their  funeral  art,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  Lalium  we  never  fmd  those 
hypogea  so  common  in  Etruria  and  Campania. 

Conditions  in  the  fourth  and  third  centuries  B.C.,  when  Greek  art 
exercised  undisputed  sway  in  Latium,  were  marked  by  no  great  change. 
Latin  art,  indeed,  would  have  remained  an  insignificant  provincial 
episode  in  the  story  of  Greek  art,  and  would  have  had  very  little  influ- 
ence on  the  life  of  the  country,  if  the  rise  of  her  military  greatness  had 
not  brought  Rome,  through  her  conquests  of  Greece  and  Asia  Minor, 
into  direct  contact  with  Greek  art  in  its  native  home.  The  artistic  booty 
brought  home  by  the  Roman  generals  gave  the  Romans  an  acquain- 
tance with  the  masterpieces  of  Greek  sculpture  and  painting,  which 
were  used  to  adorn  the  temples  and  public  buildings  of  Rome.  This 
work  of  the  state  found,  now  as  ever  in  the  life  of  Rome,  many  imita- 


312 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Three  Graces  (Fig.  3) 
(Archaic  Period) 

tors  among  the  private  citizens.  Magistrates  sent  out  to  govern  distant 
provinces  either  bought  or  took  by  force  (as  we  know  Verres  did) 
works  of  art  wherever  they  went,  and,  when  tliis  taste  for  works  of  art 
had  grown  to  such  an  extent  that  the  market  of  antiquities  of  the  time 
could  no  longer  supply  sufficient  original  works  to  meet  the  numerous 
demands,  there  arose  a  new  industry  which  has  been  of  the  greatest 
value  for  our  knowledge  of  ancient  art — namely,  the  industry  of  copy- 
ing. The  Roman  who  could  not  have  originals  for  his  house  or  garden 
could  at  least  have  copies  of  them  in  bronze  or  marble;  and  to  such  a 
pitch  was  this  industry  developed  that  the  copyist  often  went  so  far  as 
to  add  his  own  signature,  so  that  we  have  a  Sosicles  claiming  an  Ama- 
zon by  Cresilas,  an  Antiochus  appropriating  the  Athena  Parthenos, 
and  an  Apollonius  boasting  authorship  of  Polycletus's  Doryphorus. 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    313 


Girl   Runner    (Fig.  4) 
(Archaic  Period) 


Penelope   (F'ig.  5) 
(Archaic  Period) 


Young  Gymnast  and  his  Slave    (Fig. 
(Archaic  Period) 


The  Discobolus   (Fig.  7) 
(Myron,  Classical  Period) 


314 


THE  VATICAN 


Doryphorus    (Kig.   8) 
(Polycletus,  Classical  Period) 


Aniazun  (Fig.  9) 
(Polycletus,  Classical  Period) 


Seeing,  however,  that  these  copies  were  intended  mostly  to  decorate 
houses  and  gardens,  it  is  only  natural  that  not  all  the  subjects  of  Greek 
art  should  have  been  equally  copied.  An  erudite  eclectic,  like  the  owner 
of  the  villa  of  the  Pisos  at  Herculaneum,  might  desire  a  specimen  of  all 
the  styles  and  periods  of  Greek  art;  an  emperor  with  a  cultured  taste 
like  Hadrian  might  assemble  in  his  villa  near  Tivoli — whence  most  of 
the  Vatican  treasures  have  come — what  one  might  call  an  exposition 
of  all  the  architecture  and  sculpture  of  antiquity;  but  in  the  main  the 
Roman  imitator  chose  as  his  models  subjects  best  suited  for  the  deco- 
rative effect  he  had  in  mind.  How  much  more  appropriate  among  the 
rocks  of  a  fountain,  or  along  the  green  borders  of  a  garden,  was  the 
train  of  Dionysus  or  Poseidon — the  sea-horses,  nymphs,  satyrs  and 
msenads — than  the  awesome  figures  of  the  major  Olympic  gods!  And 
as  it  was  Hellenistic  art  which  had  lent  so  much  grace  and  sentiment  to 
the  gracious  denizens  of  the  sea  and  the  woods,  it  was  this  same  Hellen- 
istic art  that  gave  its  chief  inspiration  to  this  Roman  marble  industry. 
And  when  at  a  later  period  the  Roman  sculptor  wished  to  associate  with 
these  demigods,  who  had  all  the  passions  and  v.'eaknesses  of  man,  gods 
and  divinities  whose  forms  in  stone  would  give  joy  to  the  beholder,  he 
turned  his  eyes,  not  to  the  awe-striking  figures  of  Phidias,  whose  fitting 
home  was  the  cloud-kissing  peak  of  Olympus  rather  than  the  sanded 
walks  of  a  garden,  but  to  the  artistic  creations  of  Praxiteles,  whose 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    315 


Amazon   (Fig.  10) 
(Cresilas,  Classical  Period) 


Amazon   (Fig.  11 ) 
(Phidias,  Classical   Period) 


gods  are  so  human  and  so  sensual.  The  Aphrodite  of  Cnidus,  laying 
aside  her  robe  as  she  entered  the  bath,  lost  little  of  her  modesty  in  being 
transported  from  the  little  round  and  open  temple  at  Cnidus,  where  on 
every  side  she  was  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  the  curious,  to  become  a  genre 
figure  beside  a  fountain.  The  Apollo  Sauroctonus,  slaying  a  lizard  on 
the  trunk  of  a  leafless  tree,  might  very  appropriately  fill  the  space 
between  two  trees  laden  with  foliage. 

As  a  further  proof  that  Roman  taste  was  swayed  in  its  choice  by  the 
decorative  possibilities  of  the  statues,  we  have  only  to  remember  that, 
when  it  was  a  question  of  decorating  not  gardens  but  gymnasiums,  it 
spurned  the  soft  and  delicate  carving  of  the  fourth  century  and  went 
back  to  the  fifth  in  search  of  the  rugged  and  stern  canon  of  Polycletus. 
Not  in  the  nimble-limbed  Apoxyomenus  of  Lysippus — that  personifica- 
tion of  an  age  when  even  the  athlete  seemed  to  harbor  deep  thoughts 
behind  a  knitted  brow — but  in  the  solid  frame  of  the  Doryphorus  of 
Polycletus  was  the  Roman  to  find  the  model  which,  in  preparation  for 
the  wars  of  world-conquest,  would  teach  him  to  prize  bodily  strength 
more  highly  than  the  subtleness  of  the  brain. 

On  the  whole,  however,  we  may  say  that  "refined"  Roman  society  of 
the  later  Republican  and  Imperial  days  grew  sated  with,  and  almost 
ashamed  of,  the  old  simplicity  which  had  given  it  the  strength  to  estab- 
lish a  world-empire,  and  went  coquetting  with  strange  tastes  and  ideas 


316  THE  VATICAN 

until  at  last  it  found  itself  more  in  sympathy  with  the  output  of  the 
fourth  century  and  the  Hellenistic  period — i.e.,  the  sensuous,  learned 
and  sceptical  epoch  of  Greece — than  with  the  archaism  of  the  fifth 
century — the  period  of  Greece's  simplicity  and  severity  of  ideal.  The 
anatomic  rigidity  and  superficiality  of  the  archaic  works  seemed  but 
gross  insipiency  when  placed  beside  the  tortured  beauty  of  the  Laoc- 
oon.  When  the  Roman  desired  simplicity  in  art  he  did  not  seek  it  in 
the  true  archaic  works,  but  succumbed  to  the  soft  gracefulness  of  Hel- 
lenistic imitations.     He  did  not  turn  to  the  severe  and  commanding 


in 


the 


sug- 


Demeter 
presence 
devout  w^orship- 
sensual  Aphro- 
crouching  in  her 
stream  of  cold 
to  reveal  the 
of  her  body, 
it  w^as  that  de- 
lectuals  of 

longer  believed 
least  did  not 
own  gods  wath 
Greek  art.  And, 
of  the  principal 
Vatican  Museum 
tionaterepresen- 
of  the  archaic 
the  fifth  century 
with  those  of  the 
and  the  Hellen- 


Periclos    (Fig.  12) 
(Cresilas,  Classical   Period) 


Rotonda,  whose 
gests  a  crowd  of 
pers,  but  to  the 
dite  of  Daedalus, 
bath  under  the 
water  the  better 
plastic  charms 
This  soft  quality 
lighted  the  intel- 
Rome,  who  no 
in  the  gods,  or  at 
identify  their 
the  creations  of 
if  in  our  review 
works  in  the 
the  dispropor- 
tation  of  works 
period  and  of 
as  compared 
fourth  century 
istic        period 


{circa  290-150  b.c.)  should  appear  less  evident  than  to  a  visitor  passing 
through  the  halls  of  the  collection,  w^e  would  ask  our  readers  to  remem- 
ber that  this  lack  of  proportion  has  been  here  intentionally  corrected  so 
as  to  give  a  complete  and  balanced  survey  of  the  development  of  Greek 
and  Roman  art.  The  works  of  the  archaic  period  and  the  fifth  century 
have  almost  all  been  chosen  for  criticism  with  this  end  in  view,  while 
many  works  of  no  little  importance  dating  from  the  fourth  century  and 
the  Hellenistic  period  have  been  left  unnoticed.  It  should  also  be  re- 
membered that  to  the  former  class  belong  some  originals  which 
reached  Italy  either  in  the  Roman  or  the  intermediate  period. 

Roman  art  thus  consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  copies  of  Greek  mas- 
terpieces belonging  in  the  main  to  fixed  periods.    The  Roman  copyist, 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    317 


DcmcliT   (Tig.  13l 
(School  of  Phidias.  Classical  Period) 


Artemis   (Fig.  14) 
(School  of  Phidias,   Classical   Period) 


Caryatid  (Fig.  15) 
(School  of  Phidias,  Classical  Period) 


Athena  (Fig.  10) 
(School  of  Phidias,  Classical   Period) 


Discobolus  Preparing  for  the  Tlirow  (Fig.  17) 
(Classical  Period) 


318  THE  VATICAN 

however,  was  not  a  mechanical 
imitator.  In  saying  this  we  do  not 
refer  to  infidelities  wherein  even 
fairly  able  Roman  scnlptors 
libelled  their  original,  nor  do  we 
refer  to  the  special  Grseco-Roman 
School  of  Pasiteles,  which  flour- 
ished at  the  end  of  the  Republic 
and  the  beginning  of  the  Empire, 
and  which  deliberately  combined 
in  its  copies  (of  individual  statues 
or  groups)  parts  of  figures  or 
whole  figures  belonging  to  differ- 
ent styles  and  periods.  There  is 
not  a  single  work  of  this  school  in 
the  Vatican.  We  desire  rather  to 
call  attention  to  a  general  phe- 
nomenon which  characterizes  all 
the  \vork  of  the  Roman  copyists. 
In  addition  to  the  servile  work  of 
copying  mechanically,  the  Roman  aimed  at  introducing  something  of 
his  own  showing  that  he  was  the  conqueror;  but  being  a  mediocre  ar- 
tist, with  a  jumble  of  all  styles  and  periods  in  his  brain,  he  often  suc- 
ceeded in  producing  a  work  that  was  true  to  no  style  in  particular  and 
had  no  style  of  its  own.  Such  works  are  a  riddle  for  the  archfeologist, 
who  does  not  know  whether  to  attribute  them  to  the  fifth  or  fourth  cen- 
tury, or  to  the  fourth  century  or  the  Hellenistic  period.  As  a  rule,  he 
humbly  pleads  ignorance  in  cases  of  this  kind;  but  in  reality  such 
statues  belong  to  the  hybrid  mass  dumped  on  the  market  by  the  Roman 
marble-worker  as  his  own  original  productions,  although  in  the  eclectic 
purchasers  of  the  time  they  aroused  none  of  the  doubts  which  torment 
the  archaeologist  of  to-day.  All  this  material,  which  affords  little  es- 
thetic satisfaction,  still  awaits  the  patient  archaeologist  whose  careful 
classification  will  determine  the  historic  stratum  to  which  each  work 
belongs.  Here  also,  as  in  the  case  of  the  copies  of  originals  of  the 
various  periods,  our  review  will  convey  to  the  reader  an  impression  far 
different  from  that  derived  from  an  actual  visit  to  the  Museum.  Hav- 
ing to  choose  between  flower  and  flower,  and  to  cull  only  a  few  dozens 
of  specimens,  our  attention  must  be  confined  to  works  which  have  a 
well-defined  style  and  characterize  a  period,  a  school  or  an  artist.  The 
Vatican  Museum  has  a  remarkable  stock  of  these  non-classifiable 
works,  amounling  to  many  hundreds.      To  these  so  many  sections  of 


Boeotian   Relief  of  Horseman    (Fig.    18) 
(Classical  Period) 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    319 

the  collection  owe  their  monoto- 
nous aspect;  for,  after  examining 
them,  we  feel  the  same  boredom 
as  is  conveyed  by  the  rhetoric  of 
the  Empire,  with  its  didactic  va- 
riations of  the  great  Greek  and 
Roman  orators. 

But,  after  thus  indicating  the 
deficiencies  of  Roman  art,  we 
must  not  overlook  its  positive 
achievements.  Though  Rome  at- 
tached so  little  importance  to  art; 
though  she  considered  it  a  pursuit 
unworthy  of  a  citizen,  and  even 
under  the  Empire  left  its  cultiva- 
tion to  the  Greeks,  she  not  only 
exercised  a  certain  discrimination 
in  her  copying,  but  also  created 
something  that  Greece  until  then 
had  never  had.  In  two  of  her 
customs,  one  domestic  and  one  political,  Rome  found  the  source  of 
inspirations  which  were  original  in  art.  In  the  imagines  maioruin, 
which  preserved  the  remembrance  of  the  deceased  for  future  genera- 
tions, lay  the  germ  of  portraiture;  the  great  tableaux  in  which  the  vic- 
torious generals  displayed  in  the  Forum  the  principal  incidents  of  their 
campaigns  paved  the  way  for  historical  reliefs. 

But  if  Rome  had  remained  a  republic,  and  if  the  imperial  idea  had 
not  brought  one  individual — the  Emperor — to  the  forefront  of  public 
life,  the  art  of  portraiture  and  of  honorary  reliefs  would  have  re- 
mained an  unimportant  episode  in  the  life  of  Greek  art,  like  the  tem- 
ple decorations  and  the  tomb  ornaments  in  contemporary  Latium. 
This  is  proved  by  the  laurel-crowned  bust  from  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios, 
which  is  now  in  the  Vatican  Museum  and  is  said  to  be  a  portrait  of  the 
poet  Ennius,  and  by  the  fragment  of  a  painting  recording  the  exploits 
of  M.  Fannius  and  Q.  Fabius,  now  in  the  Museo  dei  Conservatori;  the 
bust  is  an  insipid  imitation  of  the  Greek  idealistic  stj'le,  while  the  paint- 
ing treats  a  Roman  subject  in  a  purely  Greek  manner. 

The  imperial  idea  modified  all  this.  To  Rome  came  the  great  artists 
to  place  themselves  at  the  service  of  the  Empire.  From  the  imagines 
maiorum,  hitherto  confined  to  the  privacy  of  the  home  or  the  family 
tomb,  developed  the  portrait  of  the  Emperor,  which  either  flattery  or 
loyalty  multiplied  in  every  corner  of  the  Empire.    The  eulogistic  no- 


320 


THE  VATICAN 


^^^^^^^^^^^KSf'''^  ^^M 

1 

■ 

»* 

1 

H 

w1 

I^H 

r 

^    1  ^  i^^^^^^^l 

I 

'^^1 

1- 

^1 

The  Barberini  Hera    (Fig.  19) 
(Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


Aphrodite  of  Cnidus    (Fig.  20) 
(Praxiteles,   Fourth  Century  b.c.) 


Apollo  Sauroctonus    (Fig.  21) 
(Praxiteles,   Fourth   Century   B.C.) 


Torso  of  an  Eros   (Fig.  22) 
(Praxitelic  School,  Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    321 

tices,  which  for  a  few  days  attracted  the  attention  of  the  loungers  in 
the  Forum,  were  replaced  by  monuments  of  stone,  and  thus  we  have 
the  historical  reliefs  on  the  honorary  slabs  which  perpetuated  through 
the  centuries  the  memory  of  the  Emperors. 

Here  again,  as  always,  the  imperial  example  influenced  private  citi- 
zens. Every  prominent  citizen  was  a  lesser  emperor  among  his  own 
clients,  and  his  daily  routine  of  business  was,  so  to  speak,  his  empire, 
concerning  which  posterity  w^as  to  be  duly  notified  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  art.  Hence  arose  those  countless  honorary  portraits  that 
studded  the  squares  of  the  small  provincial  towns,  immortalizing  the 
not  always  very  intellectual  features  of  insignificant  magistrates. 
Hence,  too,  arose  the  excessive  desire  of  private  citizens  to  glorify  their 
past  in  honorary  monuments.  Nor  did  these  sarcophagi  belong  only 
to  the  magistrate  who  had  faithfully  served  the  ideal  of  Rome  and 
wished  to  immortalize  the  salient  facts  of  his  administration,  or  to 
the  general  who  had  himself  represented  in  all  the  turmoil  of  battle. 
Even  an  M.  Virgilius  Eurisaces,  a  wealthy  baker,  had  a  costly  tomb 
built  for  himself  on  which  the  reliefs  show  the  successive  processes  of 
bread-making,  the  trade  in  which  he  had  made  his  fortune;  while  in  a 
modest  sepulchral  painting  Farnaces,  a  boatman,  has  bequeathed  to  us 
the  picture  of  the  tub  with  which  he  eked  out  a  meagre  living! 

In  this  art  of  portraiture  and  honorary  reliefs  Rome  not  only  intro- 
duces subjects  untouched  by  the  Greeks,  but  treats  these  subjects  in 
a  way  of  her  own.  Though  this  art  was  practised  by  Greek  artists,  the 
honor  of  originating  it  must  be  conceded  to  Rome.  From  the  early 
days  of  the  Empire  down  to  Constantinian  times  and  even  later,  the 
art  of  Rome  rises  and  falls  as  it  pursues  a  path  which  we  may  call  natu- 
ralism based  directly  on  life.  Rome  took  up  the  burden  of  art  at  the 
point  where  Hellenism  laid  it  down,  namely,  at  the  point  of  idealistic 
naturalism,  because  the  Greek  art  of  this  period  was  still  ideal  even 
when  it  represented  the  unesthetic  and  drew  its  subjects  directly  from 
nature.  Hellenism  could  never  quite  shake  off  the  tradition  of  ages. 
Thus  the  first  output  of  Imperial  art,  in  the  period  from  Augustus  to 
the  Elavil,  is  strongly  tinged  with  idealistic  naturalism.  Between  the 
Elavil  and  Trajan  a  change  came:  more  freedom  is  given  to  nature 
as  seen  directly,  and  the  form  becomes  less  delicate  and  accurate.  De- 
cadence was  rapid  from  the  days  of  the  Antonines  to  Constantine  and 
Theodosius,  when  the  compositions  became  poor  and  the  figures  un- 
graceful. 

We  have  seen  that  the  inspiring  influence  of  Rome  was  limited  to 
the  two  branches  of  portraiture  and  relief  work.  But  even  in  these 
Greece  was  always  the  tutoress,  and  often  an  indiscreet  one.    Under 


322  THE  VATICAN 

the  traditional  idealistic  forms  she  introduces  her  gods  even  into 
the  honorary  reliefs.  Unable  to  pour  the  full  plethora  of  her  myths 
into  the  architectural  decorations,  since  the  Roman  architecture  had 
abolished  the  metope  and  generally  left  the  friezes  and  facades  with- 
out ornaments,  she  employed  them  as  wall  decorations  in  the  triclinium 
to  delight  the  eye  of  the  banqueters,  and  crowded  them  on  the  surfaces 
of  the  sarcophagi  to  supply  subjects  of  meditation  to  the  bereaved. 
And  when  Rome  was  called  on  to  lend  artistic  aid  to  the  new  Oriental 
cults  which  the  mingling  of  races  under  the  Empire  had  diffused  so 


widely,  Greece 
agent.  R  seemed 
had  a  monopoly 
especially  of  the 
How  ill  would 
fared  had  they 
to  the  rough 
the  Romans! 
over,  had  al- 
ed  a  similar  task 
mies  when  she 
with  the  figure 
That  the  Ro- 
grossed  with 
quest,  had  no 
divine  ideal  is 
fact  that  neither 
nor  in  her  art 
to  create  an  he- 
own.  She  did 
to  till  the  soil 
man  germ  might 


Aniiiious    (Irl     I'.rlvrclcrc    (  li^.    231 
(Praxitclic  School    [?],  Fourth  (Century  n.c.) 


was  agam  the 
as  though  Greece 
of  the  ideal,  and 
divine  ideal, 
the  gods  have 
been  subjected 
mentality  of 
Greece,  more- 
ready  perform- 
for  the  Ptole- 
presented  Egypt 
of  Serapis. 
man  mind,  en- 
material  con- 
capacity  for  the 
shown  by  the 
in  her  literature 
was  Rome  able 
roic  myth  of  her 
not    know    how 


wherein  the  hu- 
develop  into  the  divine.  The  Romans,  who  were 
above  all  makers  of  real  history  and  not  fantastic  creators  of  the  un- 
real, could  not  conceive  even  their  own  origin  as  a  myth;  for  them  it, 
too,  was  history.  And  if  in  literature  and  in  art  the  first  figures  in  her 
history,  Romulus  and  Remus,  are  illuminated  by  an  aureole  of  myths, 
we  must  not  forget  that  this  is  due,  not  to  the  Roman,  but  to  the  Greek 
spirit,  which,  through  the  pious  ^neas,  Stesichorus  and  the  tabiihv 
iliacce,  linked  the  origin  of  Rome  with  the  ruin  of  Troy.  Thus,  in  the 
Base  Casali,  a  votive  altar  to  be  found  in  the  Belvedere,  the  artist  cele- 
brates on  one  side  the  birth  of  Romulus  and  Remus,  and  on  the  other 
harks  back,  through  the  Trojan  War,  to  the  Judgment  of  Paris. 

In  general,  therefore,  these  are  the  works  in  which  Roman  art  is  ex- 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    323 

pressed:  copies  of  Greek  masterpieces  (preferably  of  definite  periods), 
arbitrary  combinations  of  the  elements  of  these  masterpieces  in  fig- 
ures devoid  of  a  definite  stylistic  character,  portraits,  honorary  reliefs, 
sepulchral  monuments  glorifying  Roman  life  (even  the  humble  life  of 
the  tradesman),  pictures  and  sarcophagi  with  Greek  myths,  Oriental 
gods  executed  in  the  Greek  style,  and  some  scenes  dealing  with  the  be- 
ginnings of  Rome.  This  is  all  that  Rome  produced  during  the  centuries 
of  the  Empire,  and  this  was  for  the  most  part  executed  by  Greek  hands. 
Here  undoubtedlv  we  do  not  behold  the  straight  and  uninterrupted 


line  of  develop- 
by  the  spirit  of 
man  art  does  not 
ment,  logical  as 
such  as  is  afford - 
tion  of  the  art  of 
categories  form- 
lized  in  the 
title  evolution- 
less  in  the  pres- 
lection  of  works 
the  various  in- 
simultaneously 
epochs,  artists 
Rut  just  for  this 
man  art  is  a 
of  life  under  the 
ter  in  it  than  in 
festations  of  the 
clash,  the  repul- 
coalescence     of 


Apollo  del  Belvedi  r( 
(Leochares[7],    Fourth   Century    B.C.) 


ment  followed 
one  people.  Ro- 
offer  an  enjoy- 
well  as  esthetic, 
ed  by  the  evolu- 
Greece.  Mental 
ed  and  crystal - 
school  of  scien- 
ism  are  wor th- 
ence of  this  col- 
created  under 
fluences  exerted 
by  different 
and  sentiments, 
very  reason  Ro- 
faithful  mirror 
Empire.  Far  bet- 
the  other  mani- 
era  do  we  see  the 
sionand  the  final 
Greek   and    Ro- 


man elements;  we  see  in  it  the  contrast  between  myth  and  history, 
between  the  ideal  and  the  real,  and  we  trace  in  it  the  tortuous  course  of 
the  destiny  of  the  Empire.  The  contemplation  of  Roman  art  as  the 
amalgamation  of  different  civilizations  affords  us  exactly  the  same  en- 
joyment as  was  experienced  by  an  early  Roman  of  refined  taste  when 
he  walked  along  the  paths  of  a  public  garden  and  examined  the  great 
variety  of  works  which  the  eclectic  spirit  of  the  times  had  collected 
there.  Rut,  descending  from  the  peaks  of  art  to  the  plane  of  every-day 
life,  we  derive  from  Roman  art  an  even  stronger  sense  of  that  vastness 
of  the  Empire  which  must  have  been  conveyed  in  the  Forum  by  the 
multicolored  crowds  of  spiritual  Greeks  and  fanatical  Orientals  who 
made  a  motley  picture  against  the  background  of  dignified  Romans. 


324 


THE  VATICAN 


Apollo  Citliaraedus   (I'ig.  23) 
(Fourth  Century  b.c.) 


The  Vatican  Museum  is  com- 
posed of  all  these  works,  but  here 
the  original  mixing  of  ages,  styles 
and  subjects  is  still  further  com- 
plicated as  the  result  of  the  history 
of  the  collection.  The  most  dis- 
parate works  have  been  placed  to- 
gether, either  because  the  order  of 
their  acquisition  has  willed  it  so, 
or  because  esthetically  they  are 
better  adapted  to  a  certain  place. 

It  is  only  the  uncultured  person 
who,  on  passing  rapidly  through 
the  halls,  receives  the  impression 
of  having  before  him  a  long  series 
of  marbles,  almost  all  alike.  The 
student  who  views  them  with  an 
historic  eye  is  compelled  to  take 
giddy  leaps  of  ages  and  ideas  as 
he  passes  from  marble  to  marble. 
The  sarcophagus  to  which  the  remains  of  some  poor  mortal  were 
piously  consigned  under  the  protection  of  Greek  heroes,  and  which  in 
its  treatment  of  death  hints  at  the  life  beyond  the  grave,  supports  an 
honorary  relief  which  was  detached  from  a  commemorative  monu- 
ment and  treats  of  Roman  victories  in  this  life  of  ours.  The  figure  of 
an  athlete,  offered  as  a  model  of  vigorous  health  to  the  youth  frequent- 
ing the  gymnasia  and  baths,  stands  near  the  dignified  statue  of  an 
emperor,  general  or  high  priest,  which  from  its  place  in  some  public 
forum  once  spoke  of  the  authority  of  rulers.  In  front  of  the  solemn 
image  of  a  fifth-century  Greek  divinity,  which  formerly  towered  in  the 
mighty  niche  of  a  temple,  we  are  greeted  by  the  immodest  smile  of  an 
Hellenistic  satyr  which  earlier  diffused  its  coarse  joviality  among  the 
trees  of  a  villa.  The  Sacrifice  of  Mithra,  venerated  by  his  Oriental  fol- 
lowers in  the  dim  recesses  of  his  mysterious  shrine,  is  lost  among  the 
countless  figures  of  animals  which  once  struggled  or  reposed  around 
the  fountains  of  some  courtyard.  Thus,  in  capricious  succession,  the 
Vatican  Museum  presents  us  with  the  phases  and  characteristics  of 
Roman  civilization.  We  witness  in  turn  its  melancholy  preoccupation 
with  the  ultramundane  life,  its  proud  satisfaction  at  the  political  glory 
of  Rome,  its  worship  of  physical  energy,  its  faithful  devotion  to  the  im- 
perial idea,  its  sincere  and  solemn  religiosity,  its  light  and  sarcastic 
scepticism,  its  fanatical  practice  of  strange  cults,  and  the  calm  serenity 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    325 


Melpomene,  Muse  of  Tragedy  (Fig.  20) 
(Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


Thalia,  Muse  of  Comedy   (Fig.  27) 
(Fourth  Century  u.c.) 


of  its  domestic  life.  This  collection  takes  us  wherever  the  rich  and 
tumultuous  life  of  Rome  developed  and  ended — to  the  home  and  the 
temple,  to  the  Forum  and  baths,  to  the  public  gardens,  and  to  the  ceme- 
tery. Visitors  who  possess  the  sense  of  historic  evocation,  and  who 
nurture  this  sense  as  a  delightful  extension  of  their  own  lives,  can  feel 
no  greater  joy  than  that  which  is  derived  from  this  vertiginous  flight 
through  the  ages  and  this  profound  penetration  into  the  heart  of  an- 
cient man. 

It  is  true  that  archaeological  science,  which  would  catalogue  and 
arrange  everything  with  punctilious  care  and  thus  destroy  the  vitality 
of  the  collection,  feels  restless  at  the  sight  of  the  very  chronological 
disorder  which  makes  of  the  Vatican  Museum  a  living  thing.  But,  for 
our  part,  we  must  confess  that,  from  the  historic  point  of  view,  not  the 
wise  distribution  of  the  marbles  of  the  Parthenon,  of  the  Temple  of 
Phigalia,  of  the  Monument  of  the  Nereids,  or  of  the  Mausoleum  in  the 
British  Museum,  nor  the  meticulous  classification  of  the  funeral  monu- 
ments in  the  National  Museum  of  Athens,  has  given  us  that  pleasant 
sense  of  intellectual  exhilaration  which  we  felt  when,  looking  from  the 
Rotonda  in  the  Vatican  and  casting  our  eyes  over  the  scene  below,  our 
thoughts  cantered  through  the  ages  as  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  schools 
and  of  places  far  removed.  What  a  wealth  of  historical  messages  are 
conveyed  by  the  belligerent  attitude  of  the  Juno  Lanuvina,  the  ridicu- 


326 


THE  VATICAN 


Artemis   (Fig.  28) 
(Fourth  Century  b.c.) 


lous  banality  of  Claudius  posing 
as  Jupiter,  the  suffering  expres- 
sion of  the  aged  Nerva,  the  benev- 
olent indulgence  of  the  Hera  Bar- 
berini,  the  crude  bravado  of  the 
Hercules  Righetti,  the  severe  calm 
of  Demeter,  and  the  morbid  mel- 
ancholy of  Antinous!  And  alter- 
nating with  these  messages  come 
the  no  less  charming  notes  which 
vibrate  from  the  genial  but  agi- 
tated Zeus  of  Otricoli,  the  feminine 
energy  of  Faustina  the  Elder,  the 
open  and  kindly  countenance  of 
Hadrian,  the  pathetic  and  sen- 
suous hermes  personifying  Poz- 
zuoli,  and  the  mystic  concentra- 
tion of  Serapis.  So  varied  and  at 
once  so  harmonious  an  expression 
of  ancient  life  has  never  been  of- 
fered us  by  the  perusal  of  any  Latin  texts, — even  those  texts  which  the 
all-conquering  Greek  tradition  has  fdled  with  so  many  elements  from 
the  past.  In  fullness  and  precision  the  evoking  power  of  the  image  far 
transcends  that  of  the  written  word.  But  to  enjoy  the  gratitication  of 
grasping  every  note  in  this  concert  of  various  voices  we  must  first  train 
ourselves  to  appreciate  each  individual  sound;  every  image  must  needs 
have  already  delivered  individually  its  full  message  concerning  its  ori- 
gin, age,  signilicance  and  function.  The  message  of  each  work  must 
be  mentally  correlated  with  that  of  its  most  intimate  sisters,  so  that  we 
may  go  through  the  Vatican  Museum,  not  on  the  alert  for  every  note, 
high  or  low,  strong  or  feeble,  which  each  marble  may  emit,  but  lending 
an  ear  only  to  those  sounds  which  are  concordant  and  are  reminiscent 
of  other  sounds  previously  ignored  but  now^  contributing  towards  a 
fuller  and  higher  harmony.  That  is  to  say,  by  following  historical  cri- 
teria and  making  ourselves  humble  disciples  of  that  archaeological  sci- 
ence which  is  so  upset  when,  as  here,  it — which  is  order  itself — receives 
the  confused  voices  of  so  many  works,  we  shall  seek  out  in  this  great 
collection  those  marbles  which  better  characterize  an  age,  a  school,  an 
artist,  an  idea;  and  we  shall  thus  retrace  the  grand  line  of  development 
of  ancient  art  from  the  archaic  products  of  Greece  to  the  late  Roman 
works  which  herald  on  the  horizon  the  dawn  of  another  civilization — 
the  Christian.    Those  whose  ears  are  attuned  to  the  grand  harmony  of 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    327 

this  fundamental  line  will  detect  with  much  deeper  gratification  the  in- 
dividual and  precious  motifs  which  run  through  the  apparent  discord 
of  the  ensemble. 

The  Archaic  Period. — Figures  of  gods  and  votive  reliefs,  mytholog- 
ical scenes  and  figures  of  athletes,  statues  and  sepulchral  reliefs  are  the 
tirst  products  of  Greek  art.  These  sufficed  amply  to  satisfy  the  desires 
of  a  civilization  which  craved  for  a  material  expression  in  images.  The 
figures  of  the  gods  and  the  votive  reliefs  owe  their  origin  to  the  mystical 
sense  which  inclined  men,  who  were  desirous  of  the  constant  pro- 


tection of  su- 
the  hope  that 
would  be  more 
safed  to  them  if 
were  recited  and 
made  before  ma- 
such  beings,  or 
talized  their 
ferings  in  some 
the  figures  of 
deities  and  their 
former  only,  ap- 
my  thological 
nated  in  a  sense 
mystical  one  — 
com  memorative 
historical  sense, 
the  gods  and 
protectors  of  the 
agents  of  great 
To      this      very 


Zeus  "f  ()lrif<ili    (Fig.  29) 
(Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


perior  beings,  to 
this  protection 
readily  vouch- 
their  prayers 
their  offerings 
ferial  images  of 
if  they  immor- 
prayers  and  of- 
scene  in  which 
the  protective 
own,  or  even  the 
peared.  The 
scenes  origi- 
opposite  to  the 
namely,  in  the 
and  honorific 
which  regarded 
heroes,  not  as 
living,  but  as  the 
past  enterprises, 
same    honorific 


sense,  translated  into  the  human  atmosphere,  we  owe  the  figures  of  the 
athletes;  for  these  were  the  heroes  of  the  immediate  yesterday,  just  as 
Hercules  and  Theseus,  who  also  were  athletes,  were  the  heroes  of  the 
dim  past.  The  mystic  sense  and  the  honorific  sense,  variously  com- 
bined, can  be  recognized  in  the  statues  and  sepulchral  reliefs,  because, 
while  on  the  one  hand  these,  in  perpetuating  the  figure  of  the  deceased, 
aimed  at  securing  his  peaceful  ultramundane  existence  through  the 
mystical  power  of  the  image,  on  the  other  hand  they  aimed  at  perpetu- 
ating his  memory  among  his  surviving  relatives  and  friends.  For  this 
reason  the  sepulchral  reliefs  most  commonly  show  the  deceased  en- 
gaged at  one  of  his  usual  earthly  occupations. 

The  ability  displayed  at  first  by  Greek  art  in  the  cultivation  of  all 


THE  VATICAN 


(Scopas[?],  Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


Headless  Statue  of  a  Niobid   (Fig.  31) 
(Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


these  branches  was  not  greater  than  that  shown  by  Egyptian  or  As- 
syrian art  in  the  interpretation  of  nature;  in  fact,  Greece  shows  as  yet 
no  superiority  whatever  over  any  other  country  where  art  developed 
and  ran  its  independent  course.  In  statuary,  the  figures  are  conceived 
rigidly  in  perspective,  without  any  lateral  or  oblique  motion  which 
might  disturb  the  stern  line  of  the  trunk,  and  with  few  angular  move- 
ments of  the  limbs.  In  reliefs,  which  are  the  transference  to  stone  of 
decorative  scenes,  the  figures,  instead  of  being  represented  with  the 
natural  coordination  of  their  parts,  are  the  result  of  the  arbitrary  recon- 
struction of  parallel  views.  Thus,  the  thorax  in  perspective  is  crushed 
between  the  head  and  legs  in  profile;  the  eye  in  perspective  is  repre- 
sented in  a  head  in  profile. 

But,  however  little  it  may  be  apparent  from  these  rigid  and  distorted 
designs,  Greek  art  from  the  very  beginning  looked  on  nature  with  keen 
observation  of  the  real,  and  ennobled  this  reality  by  idealizing  it. 
And,  as  it  gradually  advanced  in  the  knowledge  of  the  human  body, 
it  succeeded  in  correcting  the  errors  of  design  which  had  rendered  the 
figure  rigid  and  distorted.  In  the  statue  the  head  inclines  towards  one 
shoulder;  one  leg  bends  at  the  knee,  relieving  itself  of  the  weight  of  the 
body;  the  arms  move  in  smoother  gestures,  and  the  trunk  from  the 
shoulders  to  the  hips  begins  to  accompany  wnth  greater  freedom  the 
motions  of  the  limbs.    A  similar  advance  is  made  in  the  representation 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    329 


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Ganymede  lUuiitil  up  by   the  Eagle   (liR.   .12 
(Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


Apoxyomenus    (Fig.   33) 
(I.ysippus,  Fourth  Century  B.C.) 


Crouching  Figure  of  Aphrodite  (I-ig.  34) 
(Daedalus  [?],   Hellenistic    Period) 


Jupiter  Serapis   (Fig.  3.'>) 
(Bryaxis,  Hellenistic  Period) 


Personiflcatidii  of  Aiitiochia   (Fig.  36) 
(Eutychides,  Hellenistic  Period) 


330  THE  VATICAN 

of  the  draperies,  which  at  first 

smothered  the  body  like  a  sheath; 

the  folds,  which  previously  fell  in 

regular    parallel    and    superficial 

lines,    now    diverge,    curve    and 

deepen.     Then,    in   its   turn,   the 

trunk    in    the    reliefs    begins    to 

deviate  from  its  rigidly  vertical 

position,  and  to  assume  a  more 

natural  posture  between  the  legs 

and    the    head.      Gradually    this 

slight  obliquity  is  extended  to  the 

limbs,  increasing  still  further  the 

naturalness  of  the   posture;   and 

that  enormous  eye  shown  in  per- 
spective,   which    had    previously 

gazed  into  vacant  space  as  if  en- 
tirely detached  from  the  action  of 
the  figure,  loses  some  of  its  size. 

It  is  easy  to  indicate  the  tech- 
nical ways  and  means  by  which  Greek  art  gradually  accomplished  its 
liberation,  raising  itself  thereby  to  a  plane  high  above  Oriental  art,  and 
opening  for  itself  a  horizon  shut  off  from  the  latter  for  ever.    But  we 
can  never  know  why  to  Greek  art  was  granted  that  which  was  denied  to 
art  elsewhere.    To  attain  to  the  truth  in  such  a  research,  we  should 
need  to  know  the  causes  which  occasioned  the  peculiar  psychological 
constitution  of  the  Greek  people;  that  is  to  say,  we  should  need  a  know- 
ledge of  things  which  time  has  obscured  for  ever.    But,  if  we  must  per- 
force abandon  our  inquiry  into  causes,  we  may  at  least  take  cognizance 
of  the  fact.    Greek  art  slowly  approaches  to  reality,  and  idealizes  it. 
This  preparatory  work  was  performed  during  the  archaic  era— that  is, 
between  the  second  half  of  the  seventh  century  and  the  first  half  of  the 
fifth  century  before  Christ.    During  the  early  part  of  this  era— the  pe- 
riod of  crude  archaism— Greek  art  is  rigid  in  its  statuary  and  distorted 
in  its  reliefs,  like  all  primitive  art;  in  the  latter  part  of  this  era— the 
period  of  mature  archaism— it  corrects  both  excesses,  and  makes 
natural  and  idealizes  both  subjects  and  forms. 

Of  the  output  of  crude  archaism  the  Vatican  possesses  nothing.  This 
period,  with  which  the  excavations  in  Greece,  Asia  Minor  and  Sicily 
have  so  familiarized  us,  produced  crude  figures  of  which  no  intelligent 
Roman  would  have  desired  a  copy.  The  Vatican  indeed  possesses  very 
few  works  from  the  period  of  mature  archaism,  and  even  these  date 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    331 

rather  from  the  end  than  the  beginning  of  this  period.  Still,  with  the 
exception  of  the  mythological  reliefs,  which  were  peculiarly  an  orna- 
ment of  the  temples  and  of  which  therefore  it  was  not  easy  to 
find  specimens  or  fragments  in  the  soil  of  Rome,  all  the  genres  of  Greek 
art  are  represented  in  these  few  specimens — the  statue  of  the  deity,  the 
votive  relief,  the  athletic  and  mythic  statue,  and  the  sepulchral  relief. 
And  we  even  have  one  work  wherein,  according  to  our  interpretation, 
we  may  see  the  figure  of  a  goddess,  or  of  a  heroine,  or  of  a  mortal. 
The  first  of  the  above-mentioned  genres  is  represented  by  three 


The  Nile  (Fig.  37) 
(Alexandrian  School,  Hellenistic  Period) 

statues  of  Apollo.  As  the  most  archaic  of  these  has  been  transformed 
by  the  copyist  into  a  Latin  god,  Semo  Sancus,  and  thus  characterizes  a 
special  tendency  of  the  Roman  religious  spirit,  it  will  be  examined  by 
us  when  we  shall  later  speak  of  the  art  of  the  Empire.  Of  the  other  two 
statues,  the  older  shows  the  Apollo  Citharaedus  Seated  (Fig.  1).  The 
copyist  has  here  translated  into  marble  a  bronze  original  which  dates 
from  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  as  the  following  technical  de- 
tails show:  the  skilful  carving  of  the  hair  and  of  the  folds  of  the  chiton 
(tunic)  and  the  cavity  of  the  eyes,  which  was  to  be  filled  with  metal  or 
a  glassy  paste  to  give  the  illusion  of  the  living  glance.  The  restorer  has 
been  guiltv  of  some  inaccuracies  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  two  arms 


332  THE  VATICAN 

with  the  plectrum  and  lyre,  but  in  general  his  restoration  of  these  mem- 
bers has  been  well  conceived.  He  has,  however,  been  less  fortunate 
with  the  feet,  which  he  has  enveloped  in  too  clumsy  footwear,  and  with 
the  added  mass  of  curls  which  fall  on  the  shoulders;  the  latter  accords 
ill  with  the  original  coiffure,  which  gathered  all  the  hair  in  a  knot  at  the 
nape  of  the  neck.  Yet  not  even  the  infidelities  of  the  copyist  or  the 
disfigurements  of  the  restorer  can  destroy  the  expressive  gracefulness 
of  this  work.  The  young  god,  with  his  delicate  and  oval  face,  and  with 
his  body  lightly  wrapped  in  a  chiton  with  fine  and  superficial  folds,  in- 


The  Marine  Centaur  ( I  iu.  .isi 
(Hellenistic  Period) 

clines  his  head  slightly  towards  his  left  shoulder  to  catch  the  sounds 
which  he  draws  from  his  instrument.  If  the  cavity  of  the  eyes  conveys 
to  the  modern  spectator  the  impression  that  he  stares  astonished  into 
vacancy,  we  must  remember  that  this  was  not  so  in  the  original.  In  the 
attitude  of  the  figure  all  is  composure  and  calm.  Hardly  perceptible  is 
the  inclination  of  the  head;  the  face  is  inert;  the  trunk  is  firm;  the  left 
foot  is  slightly  in  advance  of  the  other.  As  yet  we  have  nothing  of  that 
Apollonian  fury,  of  the  enrapturing  power  of  music,  which,  a  little 
more  than  a  century  later,  we  shall  find  in  another  figure  of  Apollo, 
also  in  the  Vatican  Museum.  Greek  art  is  studying  the  human  body, 
but  it  is  as  vet  unable  to  breathe  into  it  a  soul. 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    333 


Centaur  or  Triton   (Fig.  39t 
(School   of  Pergamos,  Hellenistic   Period) 


Centaur  Crowned  with  Vine  Leaves   (Fig.  -10) 
(Hellenistic  Period) 


The  other  figure  of  Apollo,  a  few  decades  later  than  the  preceding 
one,  is  not  only  an  ideal  nude  body  (Fig.  2) :  it  also  shows  increased  re- 
search into  expression.  It  too  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  copyist 
and  the  restorer.  The  copyist,  who  lived  probably  in  the  time  of 
Hadrian  and  was  therefore  imbued  with  classical  smoothness,  has  so 
far  exaggerated  this  quality  as  to  refine  down  almost  completely 
the  muscles  and  bones.  He  has  besides,  for  the  sake  of  contrast,  created 
pronounced  shadows  in  the  mass  of  the  hair  by  ruffling  it  and  increas- 
ing its  size.  In  this  instance  the  restorer's  work  has  been  less  detrimen- 
tal than  the  copyist's.  He  is  mistaken,  however,  in  his  restoration  of 
the  left  arm,  which  ought  to  have  been  more  bent  at  the  elbow,  and  he 
has  besides  shown  poor  taste  in  adding  the  big  arrow  when  reconstruct- 
ing part  of  the  right  arm.  On  the  whole,  he  has  well  reproduced  the 
rhythm  of  the  legs.  In  any  case  neither  the  copyist  nor  the  restorer 
has  been  able  to  obliterate  the  original  character  of  the  work,  which  is 
linked  with  a  whole  series  of  figures  of  Apollo  dating  from  the  first  half 
of  the  fifth  century,  and  showing  the  two  aims  of  Greek  artists:  first, 
to  make  the  figure  of  the  god  ever  more  delicate,  while  retaining  the 
squareness  of  the  shoulders  and  the  firmness  of  the  trunk;  and  sec- 
ondly, to  give  to  the  figure  a  benevolent  expression  and  a  subdued 
melancholy  through  the  inclination  of  the  head  and  the  shape  of  the 
eyes  and  mouth. 


334 


THE  VATICAN 


Silcnus   with  the  Infant  Dionysus    (Tig.  41) 


Young  Satyr  Carrying   Dionysus    (Fig.   42) 


(Hellenistic  Period)  (School  of  Lysippus,  Hellenistic  Period) 

From  the  statues  of  the  gods  we  pass  to  the  votive  reliefs — that  is,  to 
that  genre  in  which  the  believer  gives  material  expression  to  his  prayer 
for  divine  protection.  That  the  Vatican  Museum  among  its  statues  of 
this  period  does  not  possess  those  of  the  great  and  solemn  gods  (for 
example,  Zeus  or  Hera),  but  only  statues  of  the  young  and  graceful 
Apollo,  is  due  entirely  to  chance.  It  was,  however,  not  chance,  but  a 
particular  characteristic  of  the  Greek  spirit  which  willed  that  the 
Vatican  Museum  should  possess  only  one  votive  relief,  and  this  dedi- 
cated to  the  Charites  or  Graces  (Fig.  3).  Like  the  material  vows  of 
more  modern  days,  the  ancient  votuin  was  above  all  a  need  of  the  un- 
educated, who,  desiring  especially  health  of  body  and  earthly  benefits, 
addressed  themselves  to  secondary  and  more  humble  divinities  rather 
than  to  the  high  gods  of  Olympus.  The  belief  was  that  the  lower  gods, 
as  such,  were  more  accessible,  and  therefore  more  inclined  to  satisfy 
human  desires.  The  Greek  thus  addressed  himself  to  ^Esculapius, 
Hygeia,  the  Nymphs,  and  the  Graces.  That  the  Vatican  Museum  has  in 
this  relief  a  copy  of  a  celebrated  original  is  shown  by  the  existing  frag- 
ments of  duplicates.  Whether  the  original,  which  stood  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Acropolis  in  Athens,  was  the  work  of  an  artist  Socrates  (perhaps 
the  Boeotian ),  will  never  be  determined.  In  any  case  we  cannot  accept 
the  ancient  tradition  to  the  effect  that  this  work  is  a  youthful  creation 
of  the  great  philosopher  who,  before  constituting  himself  the  gadfly  of 


Faun  in  rosso  antico  {Fig.  43) 
(Hellenistic  Period) 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    335 

the  Athenians,  sought  in  sculpture 
a  means  of  placating  the  excitable, 
if  wise  housewife,  Xanthippe;  for 
this  work  was  executed  between 
480  and  460  b.c,  when  the  philos- 
opher was  still  a  child. 

The  three  Graces  in  this  relief 
could  not  be  taken  as  models  of 
gracefulness;  they  have  indeed  the 
heavy  and  stiff  appearance  of 
three  aged  spinsters.  The  cum- 
bersome gowns  add  nothing  to 
their  grace,  and  the  rigidity  of 
their  legs  suggests  that,  instead  of 
being  engaged  in  a  round  dance, 
they  are  taking  part  in  a  slow 
parade.  But,  if  the  work  has  no 
attraction  for  the  expression  of 
the  figures,  it  is  of  great  value  in 
view  of  its  form  and  its  technique. 
The  artist  not  only  tries  to  pay  attention  to  bodily  forms — and  does  it 
in  such  a  way  that  they  appear  even  through  the  heaviness  of  the  cloth- 
ing— but  he  also  tries  to  vary  the  drapery  and  above  all  to  render  with 
the  highest  possible  fidelity  the  various  courses  of  the  folds.  Besides, 
with  the  help  of  the  technique  of  high  relief  which,  in  its  greater  body, 
allowed  the  correction  of  the  distortions  contained  in  the  design,  the 
individual  parts  of  the  body  have  been  coordinated  in  each  of  the  fig- 
ures, which  have  been  differentiated  by  varying  the  positions  of  the 
head  and  the  trunk.  The  first  is  foreshortened;  the  second  in  perspec- 
tive; the  third  in  profile.  Thus,  at  once,  have  been  established  the 
motion  of  the  figures  and  their  relation  to  the  spectator,  for  the  two 
side  figures  indicate  the  movement  of  the  group,  while  the  central  one 
shows  that  the  movement  is  made  for  the  benefit  of  a  spectator  sup- 
posed to  be  out  of  the  relief — that  is,  for  the  real  spectator.  In  our 
opinion,  the  artist  has  succeeded  in  conveying  the  dynamic  and  static 
functions  of  the  three  figures  even  in  the  variety  of  hair-dressing, 
which  is  simple  and  superficial  in  the  two  side  figures,  but  is  elaborate 
and  heavy  in  the  central  Grace,  who  seems  to  make  a  display  of  it  as  a 
Byzantine  icon  displays  its  nimbus.  Though  quite  devoid  of  Attic 
sweetness  and  grace,  and  displaying  all  the  heaviness  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesian  School,  this  relief  is  the  work  of  an  artist  who  could  coordinate 
effects  and  strove  to  liberate  Greek  art  from  its  archaic  uniformity. 


THE  VATICAN 


MaMiiui    (I'iR.    14) 
(Hellenistic  Period) 


Fugitive  Niobid   (Fig.  45) 
(Hellenistic  Period) 


In  its  Girl  Runner  (Fig.  4)  the  Vatican  Museum  possesses,  not  one  of 
the  numerous  and  ordinary  statues  of  athletes,  but  the  most  singular 
of  all  athletic  figures.  This  work  is  perhaps  both  an  athletic  and  a 
mythic  figure,  because,  as  we  view  this  slim  and  graceful  girl,  our 
thoughts  inevitably  turn  to  the  athletic  heroine  par  excellence — Ata- 
lante,  the  rival  of  Peleus  and  Meleager,  who,  outdistanced  through  a 
ruse  in  her  race  with  Hippomenes,  became  his  bride.  The  palm  en- 
graved on  the  tree-stump  beside  her  seems  in  contradiction  of  such 
defeat.  This  stump,  however,  is  an  addition  of  the  copyist;  and,  while 
from  one  point  of  view  the  palm  may  be  reminiscent  of  the  other  vic- 
tories of  the  heroine,  it  may  also  contain  merely  some  arbitrary  mean- 
ing attached  to  it  by  the  copyist,  who  did  not  appreciate  the  true  his- 
torical significance  of  the  statue.  The  fact  that  girls'  races  were  held  at 
Olympia  and  in  other  ancient  cities  on  the  occasion  of  the  feast  of  Hera 
has  led  some  to  suggest  that  this  was  the  honorary  statue  of  some  win- 
ner. One  detail,  however,  does  not  harmonize  with  the  idea  of  a  girl 
competitor  at  Olympia:  the  short  chiton  worn  in  such  races  reached 
almost  to  the  knees,  whereas  this  statue  wears  the  very  short  chiton 
which  is  peculiar  to  the  divine  and  heroic  figures  (for  example,  Arte- 
mis and  the  Amazons),  and  which  no  mortal  maid  would  ever  have 
worn  in  public.  But  this  modification  might  be  attributed  to  the  artist, 
who  desired  to  represent  in  all  their  grace  and  vigor  the  agile  limbs  of 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    337 

the  winner.  Evidently,  however, 
the  posture  of  the  figure  better 
corresponds  to  that  of  Atalante. 
Even  granted  that  the  arms  should 
be  closer  to  the  body  than  as 
shown  in  the  modern  restoration 
(the  left  at  least  certainly  should), 
their  position  is  not  such  as  to  bal- 
ance the  body  during  a  race,  for 
which  purpose  they  should  be  held 
lower  and  not  so  extended;  their 
position  seems  rather  to  express 
surprise,  and  accords  well  with 
the  poise  of  the  head,  which  sug- 
gests attention  concentrated  on 
the  ground.  Again,  the  girl  is 
caught  by  the  artist  in  the  act  of 
running,  not  in  the  act  of  starting, 

because    the    little    block    under-  uiysses  (Fig.  46) 

neath  her  right  foot  is  an  addition  (Hellenistic  period) 

of  the  copyist,  who  only  thus  could  give  the  figure  stability  in  trans- 
lating it  from  bronze  to  marble.  In  the  original  the  right  foot  was  free 
in  the  air,  and  the  girl  was  represented  at  a  moment  of  unstable  equi- 
librium— that  is,  at  a  moment  when,  surprised  by  some  object  on  the 
ground,  she  stops  running.  And  this  object  which  halts  her  may  well 
have  been  the  golden  apples  which  the  crafty  Hippomenes  employed 
to  overcome  her  speed  and  win  her  hand.  Such  an  explanation  alone 
can  account  for  the  fixity  with  which  the  girl  gazes  upon  the  ground. 
Neither  the  motion  of  the  arms  nor  the  poise  of  the  head  would  be 
justiiied  under  different  circumstances.  If,  for  example,  she  were  con- 
centrating for  the  start,  the  girl,  instead  of  looking  down,  would  have 
looked  straight  ahead;  instead  of  extending  her  arms  as  in  the  figure, 
she  would  have  drawn  them  nearer  the  body;  instead  of  drawing  back 
with  one  foot  in  the  air,  she  would  have  bent  forward  at  the  knees. 

We  have  stated  that  the  figure  offers  an  example  of  unstable  equilib- 
rium. Our  thoughts  thus  turn  immediately  to  the  artist  of  movement, 
Myron,  and  particularly  to  one  work  of  his  which  deals  with  a  similar 
situation — Marsyas  viewing  on  the  ground  the  double  flute  cast  away 
by  Athena.  There  are  certainly  some  Myronian  traits  in  the  face  of  the 
Girl  Runner,  especially  in  its  general  conformation  and  in  the  eyes. 
Some  of  the  other  elements,  however,  seem  too  archaic  for  Myron — for 
example,  the  hair  and  especially  the  folds  of  the  chiton,  which,  con- 


338  THE  VATICAN 

fined  by  a  pectoral  sash  under  the  partly  uncovered  breast,  descends 
with  folds  so  superficial  and  undulating  that  the  figure  must  be  re- 
garded as  archaic.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that  the  greater  part  of 
Myron's  works  were  executed  during  the  latest  period  of  mature  ar- 
chaism (that  is,  between  480  and  460),  to  which  period  our  statue 
belongs.  But  even  if  it  is  not  by  Myron,  it  must  certainly  be  attributed 
to  the  Attic  School  in  view  of  the  elegance  of  its  proportions  and  its 


Ariadne  (Fig.  47) 
(Hellenistic  Period) 

delicate  treatment  of  the  nude — particularly  of  the  lower  limbs.  It 
contains  no  trace  of  the  Peloponnesian  style,  which,  however,  is  sug- 
gested to  us  by  the  contest  of  Olympia  and  the  Doric  spirit  of  such  a 
custom. 

Even  more  uncertain  is  our  interpretation  of  another  singular  statue 
in  the  Vatican  Museum.  This  is  the  so-called  Penelope  (Fig.  5) — a  poor 
copy  of  a  celebrated  original,  of  which  other  duplicates  exist,  not  only 
in  statuary  but  also  in  relief.  It  should  properly  be  regarded  as  simply 
a  torso,  since  a  large  part  of  the  right  leg,  the  left  foot,  and  the  right 
hand  are  restorations,  while  the  youthful  head  which  has  been  added 
to  the  statue,  though  ancient,  does  not  belong  to  the  figure.  The  attrac- 
tion of  this  work  thus  consists  altogether  in  its  posture.    In  so  far  as  its 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    339 

technique  is  concerned,  this  pos- 
ture is  simply  the  translation  into 
statuary  of  a  scheme  conceived  in 
relief,  which  allowed  the  sculptor 
to  establish  delinite  relations  be- 
tween his  figure  and  the  spectator. 
As  for  the  signiiicance  of  this  pos- 
ture, various  hypotheses  might  be 
offered.  The  statue  is  the  figure 
of  a  woman  concentrated  on  grave 
thoughts  or  buried  in  grief;  and 
as  in  the  other  duplicates  the  fig- 
ure is  seated,  not  on  a  rock,  but  on 
a  sedile  (chair)  beneath  which  is 
a  basket,  the  statue  was  imme- 
diately identified  as  the  pensive 
Penelope  seated  before  a  loom  at 
her  interminable  task  of  weaving 

the  shroud  for  Laertes — her  pre-  Meneiaus  (Fig.  48) 

text  for  rejecting  the  advances  of  (He..c„istic  Peric, 

her  importunate  suitors.  But  the  posture  and  the  basket  agree  equally 
well  with  the  figure  of  Demeter  mourning  the  loss  of  her  daughter 
Persephone,  or  with  that  of  any  mortal  woman  who,  through  this 
image  placed  on  her  grave,  would  convey  to  the  passer-by  her  house- 
wifely industry  and  her  regretful  longing  for  her  earthly  life. 

But  whether  it  be  the  figure  of  a  heroine,  a  goddess,  or  a  mortal,  this 
statue  certainly  personifies  the  commemorative  spirit  of  Greek  art,  and 
reveals  on  how  few  technical  resources  this  art  could  rely  at  the  end  of 
the  archaic  period  (470-450  B.C.)  in  its  research  into  expression. 
Though  given  greater  body,  the  folds  of  the  chiton  and  the  himation 
(mantle)  are  still  artificial,  as  also  are  the  curls  which  fall  on  the  shoul- 
ders, and  the  position  of  the  right  leg,  which  is  crossed  over  the  left,  is 
stiff  and  unnatural.  But  the  figure,  even  unaided  by  the  expression  of 
the  face,  clearly  reflects,  in  the  bending  of  the  head  and  of  the  trunk,  in 
the  position  of  the  arms  and  the  legs,  the  interior  state  of  the  soul.  With 
equal  sobriety  of  gesture  the  surprise  and  sudden  halt  of  Atalante  were 
expressed,  and  this  sobriety,  coupled  with  certain  characteristics  of 
style,  helps  us  to  recognize  in  this  work  also  a  product  of  Attic  art. 

In  so  far  as  the  Vatican  Museum  is  concerned,  the  archaic  period 
closes  with  the  sepulchral  stele  of  the  Young  Gymnast  and  his  Slave 
(Fig.  6).  This  is  not  a  Roman  copy,  but  a  Greek  original,  belonging  to 
the  Attic  School  of  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  b.c.    The  study  of 


340  THE  VATICAN 

expression  which  we  have  noticed  in  the  two  preceding  works  is  here 
accentuated,  and  the  clearness  of  the  subject  and  the  purpose  of  the 
stele  distinctly  reveal  the  intention  of  the  sculptor — namely,  to  repre- 
sent at  his  daily  occupation  a  gymnast  who  has  died  in  the  flower  of  his 
youth.  The  gymnast  looks  at  and  salutes  with  his  left  hand  the  little 
slave  who  tenders  to  him  the  ariballus  (oil  flask)  and  the  strigil 
(scraper)  for  use  in  the  palaestra.  What  eloquence  there  is  in  the  atti- 
tude of  the  two  figures!  The  gymnast  salutes,  but  his  face  is  suffused 
with  melancholy,  and  the  slave  stares  wonderingly  in  return.  This  has 
indeed  been  one  of  their  daily  occupations,  but  now  it  is  never  to  be 
repeated.  Never  again  will  the  young  slave  tender  to  his  beloved  mas- 
ter the  ariballus  and  the  strigil,  and  he  looks  towards  him  as  if  death 
had  already  separated  them.  Yet,  to  express  this  silent  grief,  the  sculp- 
tor has  but  very  few  technical  means  at  his  disposal.  The  gymnast  in- 
clines the  head,  while  the  little  slave  raises  his  towards  his  master.  The 
wonder  and  sadness  which  we  perceive  in  the  two  heads  do  not  exist  in 
the  physical  forms,  but  spring  from  the  looks  which  the  figures  ex- 
change. And,  confronted  with  such  expression,  we  forget  the  irregu- 
larities of  the  bodies,  which  are  to  be  attributed  partly  to  the  technique 
of  bas-relief;  we  forget  the  disproportionate  size  of  the  gymnast's  head 
and  arms,  the  unsuccessful  foreshortening  of  the  slave's  thorax,  and 
the  eye,  which  is  still  almost  in  perspective  in  the  faces  of  the  figures. 

The  Classical  Period  of  Greek  Art. — The  surprise  and  sudden  halt 
of  Atalante,  the  concentration  and  sorrow  of  Penelope,  the  melancholy 
and  surprise  of  the  Gymnast  and  his  Slave — these  archaic  art  has  suc- 
cessfully rendered  simply  by  a  movement  of  the  head,  of  the  arms,  or 
of  the  legs.  It  also  displays  increased  ability  in  the  rendering  of  the 
human  body;  it  corrects  the  rigidity  and  the  superficiality  of  the 
drapery;  it  modifies  the  posture  both  in  statuary  and  in  relief.  Amid 
such  developments  the  great  artists  of  the  fifth  century  were  nurtured, 
since  at  least  part  of  the  activity  of  Myron,  Phidias  and  Polycletus  must 
be  referred  to  the  period  of  mature  archaism.  Uplifted  on  the  wings 
of  genius,  these  sculptors  within  a  few  decades  raised  Greek  art  to  the 
pinnacle  of  perfection  in  the  reproduction  of  movement,  of  divine  dig- 
nity and  of  the  undraped  body  of  the  athlete. 

The  Vatican  Museum  possesses  a  poor  copy  of  the  Discobolus  of 
Myron  (Fig.  7),  the  earliest  of  these  three  sculptors.  The  work  indeed 
looks  as  if  the  copyist  and  the  restorer  had  vied  with  each  other  in  their 
endeavors  to  render  the  figure  as  little  athletic  and  impressive  as  pos- 
sible. The  copyist  has  almost  made  the  figure  lean  against  an  immense 
tree-trunk,  an(l  has  smoothened  the  body  so  much  that  the  bone  and 
muscular  reliefs  have  been  greatly  diminished.    Besides  adding  the  left 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    341 


"•*ii[iimfrAiliiiiiitUiii«i  1 

The  Laocoon  (Fig.  49) 
(Agesander,  Polydorus  and  Athenodorus,  Hellenistic  Period) 


342  THE  VATICAN 

arm  and  right  leg,  the  restorer  not  only  has  given  the  figure  a  modern 
head,  but  has  applied  this  head  so  badly  that  it  seems  to  drag  down  with 
it  the  rest  of  the  body.  In  the  bronze  original  the  athlete's  right  arm 
was  drawn  back,  and  he  was  represented  at  the  moment  of  pausing 
before  bringing  forward  his  arm  to  hurl  the  discus.  To  obtain  a  better 
swing,  he  had  his  right  foot  set  tirmly  on  the  ground,  bending  his  body 
over  the  right  knee,  and  was  ready  to  follow  the  swing  and  direct  it  by 
raising  and  advancing  his  left  foot,  the  toes  of  which  graze  the  ground. 
From  the  standpoint  of  athletics,  much  might  be  said  concerning  the 
naturalness  of  the  athlete's  posture;  viewing  the  statue  from  the  tech- 
nical point  of  view,  we  may  say  that  Myron  is  less  of  an  innovator  than 
at  iirst  appears,  since  he  has  only  introduced  into  statuary  a  motive 
which,  in  a  distorted  form,  was  already  found  among  the  decorative 
designs  of  the  relief.  Nevertheless,  this  work  of  Myron  must  be  char- 
acterized as  a  distinct  stroke  of  audacity,  for  he  aimed  at  destroying  the 
stability  of  statuary,  which  is  the  stable  art  par  excellence.  When  com- 
pared with  the  Atalante,  the  Discobolus  shows  what  great  progress  in 
expressing  movement  Greek  art  made  within  a  few  decades. 

As  the  Vatican  does  not  possess  any  copies  of  works  that  can  with 
certainty  be  attributed  to  Phidias,  and  as  his  greatness  is  here  conveyed 
to  the  visitor  rather  through  sculptures  coming  from  his  school,  our 
references  to  this  artist  may  be  postponed  while  we  speak  of  the  works 
of  Polycletus. 

Archaeological  research  has  established  beyond  doubt  that  in  our 
sculptural  inheritance  from  antiquity  we  possess  copies  of  three  works 
of  the  great  Argive  master — the  Doryphorus,  the  Diadumenus  and  the 
Amazon.  Of  these  three  the  Vatican  Museum  has  copies  only  of  the 
first  and  last.  In  the  Doryphorus  (Fig.  8),  Polycletus,  the  artist  of 
the  robust  athletic  nude,  established  practically  the  rule  for  those  ideal 
bodily  proportions  which  he  had  already  determined  theoretically  in 
his  writing  called  the  "Canon."  The  traditional  admiration  felt  for  the 
Doryphorus  was  fully  shared  by  Pliny  and  Quintilian;  the  former 
admires  its  "virile  youthfulness"  (viriliter  pueriim),  and  the  latter  sees 
in  the  statue  a  youth  "equally  fit  for  the  battle-field  and  the  gym- 
nasium." But  artistic  criticism  of  antiquity,  while  attributing  to 
Polycletus  the  innovation  of  making  his  sturdy  figures  stand  on  one 
foot,  blamed  him  for  making  these  figures  square  and  uniform.  The 
Doryphorus  contains  all  the  excellences  and  defects  which  are  charac- 
teristic of  the  works  of  Polycletus.  The  copy  in  the  Vatican  is  not  one 
of  the  best,  but,  apart  from  certain  insignificant  elements,  the  restora- 
tion at  least  is  confined  to  the  right  arm  and  the  left  forearm,  and  on 
the  whole  is  well  conceived.    In  contrast  to  the  violent  movement  of 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    343 

the  agile  Discobolus,  we  see  in  the  Doryphorus  a  powerful  inert  figure, 
which  bends  the  left  leg  at  the  knee  and  draws  it  a  little  aside  to  relieve 
it  of  the  weight  of  the  body.  To  this  slight  movement  of  the  lower 
limbs — which  now  appears  for  the  first  time  in  Greek  art  in  the  case 
of  static  figures,  although  we  have  already  seen  instances  of  it  in 
moving  ligures — corresponds  a  similarly  placid  movement  of  the  left 
arm,  which  bends  at  the  elbow  as  it  rests  the  javelin  on  the  shoulder. 
Equal  calm  and  firmness  characterize  the  head,  which  is  slightly  in- 
clined and  faces  towards  the  right.  The  effect  of  the  movement  is  felt 
but  superficially  by  the  trunk;  on  the  right  side,  which  supports  most 
of  the  weight  of 
shoulder  de- 
loin  ascends, 
lateral  solid 
one  of  a  pilaster, 
mand  of  art  vio- 
which  are  partly 
acrobatic  poses, 
significance  in 
unemotional  fig- 
of  the  Dory- 
but  his  head  is 
his  forehead  no 
passes,  and  to 
calmness  of  his 
on  a  closer  ex- 
this  figure,  the 
will  find  what  a 
the  study  of  the 
Greek  art  has 
work,  whose  fas- 


the  body,  the 
scends  and  the 
And  this  quadri- 
body  reminds 
Those  who  de- 
lent  emotions, 
result  of 
find  little 
inert  and 
The  body 
is  full. 
Behind 


the 

will 

this 

ure. 

phorus 

empty. 

great 

this   is 


Torso  del  Belvedere   (Fig. 
( ApoIlonius[?],   Hellenistic   Period) 


thought 
due  the 
movements.  But 
amination  of 
student  of  art 
great  advance  in 
human  body 
made  in  this 
cination  no  per- 
son of  taste  can  escape.  The  Doryphorus  is  as  restful  to  the  eye  as 
a  reflection  in  still  water.  We  feel  that,  in  refining  the  light  lines  of  the 
contour  and  the  calm  planes  of  the  body,  the  artist  wished  to  create  the 
image  of  a  conscious  physical  robustness  which  need  have  no  recourse 
to  violent  movement  to  win  appreciation.  For  this  reason  he  has 
treated  the  head,  not  as  the  mirror  of  the  internal  condition  of  the  soul, 
but  simply  as  one  of  the  parts  of  the  body  all  of  which  must  be  equally 
calm  and  robust.  And  when  we  view  the  ample  dimensions  of  the 
head,  the  firm  outline  of  the  face,  the  smooth  forehead,  the  large  and 
oval  eyes,  and  the  careful  and  regular  arrangement  of  the  hair,  we  must 
acknowledge  the  success  with  which  his  efforts  have  been  crowned. 


344 


THE  VATICAN 


Fisherman  (Fig.  51) 
(Hellenistic  Period) 


iJtiiiiisthenes  (Fig.  52) 
(Polyeuctus,    Hellenistic    Period) 


After  this  inquiry  we  can  well  understand  why  the  Doryphorus  of 
Polycletus  appeared  to  the  settled  Roman  the  ideal  expression  of  the 
human  body.  This  glorious  figure  may  have  been  created  by  the  artist 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  serving  as  a  model  for  athletes,  as  is  suggested 
by  his  describing  it  as  the  "Canon"  (or  "Type"),  and  by  his  also  general 
title  of  Doryphorus.  It  may  be  that  Polycletus  wished  to  honor  herein 
an  athlete  who  really  lived,  and  to  whom  this  statue  was  erected  in 
some  sacred  enclosure;  or  finally,  as  some  to-day  believe,  the  figure 
may  be  the  image  of  a  god.  In  the  eyes  of  the  Romans,  however,  the 
Doryphorus  was  nothing  else  than  a  Greek  anticipation  of  their  own 
ideal  soldier. 

An  anecdote  told  by  Pliny  in  connection  with  four  statues  of  Ama- 
zons at  Ephesus,  states  that  these  statues  were  works  of  Polycletus, 
Phidias,  Cresilas  and  Phradmon;  that  the  artists  made  them  in  com- 
petition with  one  another;  and  that,  when  invited  to  pass  judgment  on 
the  works,  the  three  others  unwittingly  surrendered  the  palm  to  Poly- 
cletus, for,  while  all  claimed  first  place  for  his  own  statue,  the  statue  of 
the  Argive  sculptor  was  placed  second  by  his  three  rivals.  We  possess 
in  numerous  Roman  copies  three  types  of  Amazon  belonging  to  the 
second  half  of  the  fifth  century  b.c;  two  of  these  are  entire,  while  the 
third  is  headless.  It  is  our  opinion  that,  even  in  ancient  times,  the  copy- 
ists applied  the  head  of  one  type  to  the  body  of  another,  because  only 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    345 


Semo  Sancus  (Fig.  53) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period,  130-180  a.d.) 


Juno   Sospes   Lanuvina    (Fig.   54) 
{ Graeco-Ronian   Period ) 


thus  can  we  explain  why  we  find  numerous  heads  of  one  type,  and  of 
another  only  the  body. 

These  three  types  have  undeniable  affinities  both  in  posture  and 
costume.  Persons  who  hold  a  similar  conception  of  originality  in  the 
case  of  both  ancient  and  modern  art,  and  regard  as  original  only  that 
which  differs  absolutely  from  what  has  preceded  it,  may  find  in  the 
affinities  between  the  three  types  of  Amazon  a  reason  for  denying  the 
authenticity  of  Pliny's  anecdote  and  for  holding  that  the  three  figures 
were  made  successively  by  the  artists  after  the  one  was  already  ac- 
quainted with  the  work  of  the  other.  In  fact,  if  we  were  not  acquainted 
with  the  anecdote  of  Pliny,  we  might,  in  accordance  with  our  modern 
canons  of  criticism,  attribute  after  a  superficial  examination  the  three 
figures  to  a  single  artist  who  had  repeatedly  attempted  the  same  prob- 
Originality  in  ancient  art,  however,  consisted  in  the  temperate 


lem. 


variation  of  traditional  types.  No  great  artist  was  ashamed  to  take  up 
a  subject  already  treated  by  his  predecessors,  and  to  approach  it  from 
the  same  standpoint  as  they  had  done.  Thus,  while  from  one  point  of 
view  the  affinities  between  the  three  Amazons  might  suggest  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  figures  being  the  successive  works  of  three  artists,  they 
do  not  necessarily  contradict  the  story  of  the  contest,  since  all  the  com- 
petitors may  have  followed  a  preexisting  traditional  type.  That  such  a 
traditional  type  was  associated  with  the  Temple  of  Artemis  at  Ephesus 


346  THE  VATICAN 

may  be  all  the  more  readily  admitted,  since  the  myth  tells  us  that  there 
the  vanquished  and  wounded  Amazons  found  a  refuge.  And,  when 
we  turn  to  the  examination  of  the  ditferent  statues,  we  shall  see  that  the 
originality  which  is  wanting  in  the  ensemble  is  visible  in  the  details — 
so  much  so,  indeed,  that  each  of  the  three  figures  reveals  an  artistic 
individuality  expressive  of  its  bodily  and  mental  attributes.  Inasmuch 
as  Pliny  speaks  of  four  Amazons,  and  duplicates  of  only  three  are  ex- 
tant, it  is  an  obvious  hypothesis  that  the  missing  one  is  that  of  Phrad- 
mon,  the  bronzist — the  least  known  and  least  capable  of  the  four  artists. 

Remembering  that  Polycletus  was  censured  for  making  all  his  fig- 
ures uniform,  we  can  immediately  determine  which  of  the  three  extant 
types  must  be  attributed  to  him  (Fig.  9) .  We  are  here  confronted  by  a 
full  sister  of  the  Doryphorus,  both  in  the  general  conformation  of  the 
body  and  in  the  rhythm  of  the  lower  limbs.  It  is  true  that  the  left  leg 
and  the  right,  from  the  knee  down,  are  restorations,  but  the  restorer 
has  here  correctly  divined  the  posture  of  the  original.  He  has,  how- 
ever, been  less  fortunate  in  his  restoration  of  the  right  arm,  which 
should  have  been  nearer  the  head,  and  of  the  left,  which  should 
have  rested  on  a  pillar.  The  young  woman  has  been  wounded 
near  the  right  breast;  and,  although  her  light  armless  chiton  does  not 
touch  the  wound,  with  the  instinctive  movement  characteristic  of  phys- 
ical pain  she  raises  her  arm  to  her  head,  forgetting  that  this  movement 
opens  wider  the  edges  of  her  wound.  The  figure  is  expressive,  not 
alone  of  physical  pain,  but  especially  of  mental  dolor.  The  bent  head, 
the  large  eyes  with  wandering  looks,  the  parted  lips,  also  give  mute 
utterance  to  the  suffering  of  the  spirit.  The  indomitable  virgin  has 
been  defeated — and  defeated  by  a  man!  Ancient  feminism  has  met 
with  failure.  But  how  calm  and  contained  is  this  sorrow!  This  com- 
posure indeed  well  befits  the  strong  virgin  w^ho,  not  even  in  defeat, 
deigns  to  be  a  woman  and  to  appeal  to  our  pity.  In  this  supreme  com- 
posure breathes  the  spirit  of  the  Doryphorus. 

How  different,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  Amazon  attributed  to  Cresilas 
(Fig.  10) !  She  resembles  the  Amazon  of  Polycletus  in  the  position  of 
the  lower  limbs  (which,  however,  is  here  reversed),  in  the  inclination 
of  the  head  towards  the  right  shoulder,  in  the  raising  of  the  right  arm; 
but  all  these  details  are  utilized  to  convey  an  impression  less  dignified. 
In  the  original  the  figure  rested  with  her  right  hand  on  a  spear,  and, 
drawing  aside  the  edge  of  her  chiton,  showed  to  the  spectator  the 
wound  underneath  her  right  breast.  She  knows  that  she  is  observed, 
and  expects  compassion,  for,  unless  the  language  of  forms  deceives  us, 
she  seems  to  say:  "See,  how  wounded  I  am!"  Such  sentiments,  while 
suiting  well  a  feeble  mortal  woman,  characterize  ill  the  woman  war- 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    347 

rior.  The  Amazon  of  Cresilas  is  undoubtedly  more  expressive  of  pain. 
With  a  higher  delicacy  of  form,  her  head  is  also  more  ideally  pathetic, 
and  it  has  therefore  been  more  frequently  copied,  even  to  the  extent  of 
being  applied  to  the  bodies  of  other  types  of  Amazon.  But,  on  the 
whole,  the  Amazon  of  Cresilas  is  less  virile — that  is,  she  is  less  an  Ama- 
zon. Her  body  is  more  hampered  by  the  long  himation  (cloak)  which 
surrounds  her  neck  and  falls  below  her  knees;  and  how  rigid  is  her 
chiton  with  its  rectilinear  lower  edge  and  parallel  folds!    When  we 


The  Sacrifice  of  Mitlira  (Fig.  55) 
(Grjeco-Roman  Period) 

compare  these  details  with  the  Amazon  of  Polycletus,  whose  soft 
draperies  offer  so  line  a  contrast  to  the  solid  nude  and  terminate  below 
in  a  harmonious  undulating  line,  we  appreciate  well  why  even  in  an- 
tiquity the  palm  of  victory  was  yielded  to  Polycletus. 

A  similar  detailed  comparison  cannot  be  made  in  the  case  of  the  third 
Amazon  (Fig.  11),  which  is  referred  by  most  critics  to  Phidias,  since  the 
head  of  this  type  is  missing,  and  its  original  posture  uncertain.  In 
the  Vatican  copy  the  head  is  borrowed  from  the  Cresilas  type,  and  the 
restorer,  in  adding  the  arms  and  parts  of  the  legs,  has  represented  her 
in  the  act  of  taking  her  bow  from  her  shoulder  and  surrendering  her- 


348 


THE  VATICAN 


M^MMsMJsMMi^!SM£siMmi!^S!ad 


^mmm^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^'^^^^^^ 


Isiac  Procession  (Pig.  56) 
(Grseco-Roman  Period) 

self  defeated  to  her  adversaries.  Such  a  restoration,  however,  is  ar- 
bitrary, and  no  less  doubtful  seems  to  be  that  which  makes  the  Amazon 
lean  with  her  two  hands  on  her  spear  as  she  prepares  to  spring  on 
horseback.  It  is  far  more  probable  that  this  figure  too  was  wounded 
and  resting;  that  she  sustained  her  body  by  leaning  with  her  two  hands 
on  her  spear,  while  dragging  her  left  foot  lamely  behind.  In  view  of 
this  uncertainty,  our  examination  must  be  limited  to  the  torso.  Here 
we  must  certainly  admire  proportions  of  greater  elegance  than  is 
shown  in  the  two  other  figures;  this  elegance  is  especially  conspicuous 
in  the  drapery,  which,  though  masking  excessively  the  bodily  forms, 
falls  in  the  finest  and  most  vivacious  folds,  and  approaches  nearest  to 
the  style  of  the  Parthenon.  Nevertheless,  even  without  knowing  the 
head  we  may  safely  declare  that  this  is  the  least  successful  of  the  three 
Amazons  in  attitude  and  expression.  She  is  less  womanly  than  the 
Amazon  of  Cresilas,  and  less  virile  than  that  of  Polycletus. 

Cresilas  has  been  a  lucky  artist,  for,  while  according  to  literary  tradi- 
tion his  works  were  few,  numerous  duplicates  of  these  few  works  have 
been  preserved.  The  Vatican  Museum  possesses  a  copy  of  his  portrait 
of  Pericles  (Fig.  12).  The  great  Athenian  is  represented  as  a  strategus 
(general) — that  office  which  allowed  him  to  leave  the  impress  of  his 
genius  on  a  famous  epoch  of  history.  Through  the  eyes  of  the  high 
comitial  helmet  we  can  see  the  peculiar  elongated  skull  which  an  an- 
cient comedist  called  "squill-shaped."  Certainly  the  artist  has  not 
flattered  Pericles,  either  in  this  matter  or  in  the  features  of  his  face — 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    349 

particularly  in  the  short  and  curly  beard.  But,  if  Pericles  is  not  hand- 
some, he  is  ideal.  Behind  this  thoughtful  brow  and  behind  those  eyes 
to  which  the  accentuated  upper  eyelids  lend  a  strange  shadow,  we  feel 
that  deep  preoccupations  lurk.  This  is  not  the  empty  face  of  the  Dory- 
phorus!  Cresilas  has  given  us  above  all  the  grave  image  of  the  states- 
man, and  it  is  not  without  a  certain  historic  emotion  and  a  sense  of 
gratitude  to  figurative  art,  which  preserves  through  the  centuries  what 


I'riiiissidii  of  SacriliccTs  in  Art^'riiis  ( I'ig.  .'j  /  I 
(Painting,  Graeco-Roman  Period) 

otherwise  would  have  been  lost  for  ever,  that  we  see  reemerging  from 
the  shadows  of  antiquity  the  goodness,  the  dignity  and  the  nobility  of 
Pericles,  which  are  mirrored  in  his  own  words  in  the  panegyric  of 
Athens  recorded  by  Thucydides. 

Myron  has  taught  us  audacity  of  movement;  Polycletus,  the  robust- 
ness of  the  body;  Cresilas,  the  strength  and  power  of  the  portrait;  but 
Phidias  alone  was  able  to  render  the  dignity  of  the  gods.  From  the 
Phidiac  School  have  come  four  statues,  representing  different  figures, 
but  similar  in  their  composure  and  drapery;  and  all  four  embody  the 
divine  ideal.  One  is  the  Demeter  of  the  Rotonda;  the  second  is  the 
Artemis  of  the  Gallery  of  the  Candelabra;  the  third  is  the  Caryatid  of 
the  Braccio  Nuovo;  the  fourth  is  the  gigantic  statue  of  Athena. 

Of  all  the  glorious  works  which  we  inherit  from  ancient  art,  none 

gives  such  a  perfect  expression  of  matronal  dignity  as  the  Demeter 

(Fig.  13).    This  figure  might  be  also  identified  as  Hera,  for  the  two 

arms  are  restorations,  and  consequently  the  ears  of  corn  in  the  right 


350 


THE  VATICAN 


Charioteer   (Fig.  r>8i 
(Graeco-Ronian  Period) 


hand  (the  symbol  of  Demeter)  are 
a  modern  addition.  The  goddess 
is  dressed  in  a  heavy  peplum;  this 
gown  falls  in  deep  and  parallel 
folds  along  the  right  leg,  on  which 
rests  the  weight  of  the  body,  but 
moulds  the  left  leg,  which  is  free 
and  bent  at  the  knee.  The  figure 
thus  has  the  stability  of  a  Doric 
column,  and  this  impression  is 
accentuated  by  the  proud  carriage 
of  the  head,  which  looks  straight 
before  it  without  any  benevolent 
inclination  towards  mortals.  Since 
the  goddess  may  not  reveal  to 
humanity  her  physical  beauty,  the 
peplum  conceals  her  ample  breast. 
But  the  naked  arms,  emerging 
from  the  coronet  of  folds  at  her 
shoulders,  bear  witness  to  her  di- 
vine charms,  and  remind  one  of  the  epithet  "splendid-armed,"  which 
Homer  applies  to  Hera.  But  the  beauty  of  the  goddess  lies  above  all  in 
her  majestic  face,  with  its  firm  and  yet  delicate  planes,  its  serene  eyes, 
and  its  pure  brow  under  the  harmonious  arch  of  the  hair.  Reverence  is 
the  sentiment  inspired  by  such  a  figure,  and,  while  Greece  will  later  make 
her  gods  more  human,  never  again  will  she  make  them  so  divine.  In  his 
Rhamnusian  Nemesis  Agoracritus,  a  pupil  of  Phidias,  must  have  repre- 
sented in  similar  manner  the  austere  iirmness  of  the  goddess  of  fatality. 

And  yet  the  same  elements,  with  little  variation,  serve  to  give  char- 
acter to  a  figure  entirely  different,  the  Artemis  (Fig.  14).  It  is  not  pos- 
sible for  us  to  seek  guidance  from  the  head  in  determining  the  type, 
since  it,  while  emanating  from  the  Phidiac  School,  seems  to  belong  to 
some  other  figure.  We  feel,  however,  that  this  peplum  which  falls  in 
folds  along  the  firm  right  leg  and  suggests  a  channelled  column,  covers 
the  youthful  body  of  the  Virgin  Huntress  rather  than  the  matronal 
body  of  a  Demeter  or  a  Hera.  In  this  statue  the  folds  are  more  sober, 
particularly  at  the  sides;  the  belt  is  here  rectilinear,  while  in  the  Deme- 
ter its  arch  reveals  the  fullness  of  the  hips,  and  the  longer  apoptygma 
of  the  peplum  gives  more  litheness  to  the  figure.  The  arms  in  this  fig- 
ure are  a  restoration:  in  the  original  they  extended  along  the  sides,  and 
must  thus  have  increased  still  further  the  litheness  of  the  body. 

A  comparison  of  these  figures  with  the  third  statue  of  the  Phidiac 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    351 


School,    the    Caryatid    (Fig.    15),     f  '  "^ 

shows  how  great  is  the  significance     f  ;^^.  | 

of  the  drapery  in  Greek  art.    To  "    '  I 

give  more  stability  to  the  figure,     I,  j 

which  had  to  till  an  architectural       *  ^' 
function    (that  is,  to  support  an 

entablature),    the   artist    has    not  / 

completely  relieved  the  left  leg  of  /V^ 

the  weight  of  the  body,  for,  though 

bent  at  the  knee,  it  still  rests  firmly  "^ 

on  the  ground.    Desirous  of  lend-     [  j 

ing  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the     I  ^  • 

body  that  same  strength  and  elas- 
ticity which  was  conveyed  to  the     ' 
column  by  the  entasis  (or  convex 
curve  below  the  middle),  the  artist  ■. 

has  given  the  Caryatid  great  devel- 
opment at  the  hips,  and  has  created 
the  illusion  of  still  greater  devel-  pasiphae  (Fig.  59) 

,    ,  ,,  r     1   1  r  (Painting,  Grseco-Roman  Period) 

opment  by  the  numerous  tolas  ot 

the  peplum  below  the  apoptygma  of  the  colpos — that  is,  the  fold  made 
by  pulling  the  chiton  over  the  belt.  In  fact,  while  the  breast  is  draped 
and  almost  flat  in  front,  channelled  folds  descend  along  the  sides  to 
join  the  folds  of  the  colpos,  and  the  curved  line  of  the  colpos  accentu- 
ates the  ampleness  of  the  hips.  This  general  effect  is  crowned  by  the 
arms,  which  from  the  elbows  down  have  been  (like  the  head)  repro- 
duced in  accordance  with  the  original  Caryatid  from  the  Erechtheum. 
For,  while  the  arms  cling  to  the  body,  and  thus  make  the  breast  appear 
narrow,  they  increase  the  roundness  of  the  hips.  Draping  and  posture 
thus  contribute  alike  to  give  the  impression  of  architectural  stability. 

To  the  Phidiac  School  finally  belongs  a  statue  of  Athena  (Fig.  16), 
the  many  duplicates  of  which  prove  that  the  original  was  a  celebrated 
one.  To  this  statue,  as  to  the  Demeter,  the  artist  has  communicated  the 
divine  bearing — not,  however,  that  of  the  dignified  matron,  but  that  of 
the  austere  virgin.  Clad  in  a  light  chiton  with  delicate  folds,  over  which 
is  thrown  an  ample  himation,  the  goddess  shows  nothing  of  her  body 
except  the  forearm,  and  even  her  face  recedes  into  her  high  Corinthian 
helmet.  But  in  this  overshadowed  and  almost  sad  face,  which  seems  to 
occupy  so  small  a  part  of  such  a  towering  figure,  the  expression  is 
dominating.  Here  is  really  the  goddess  of  wisdom  and  of  w^ar,  con- 
centrated on  her  own  thoughts. 

That  a  new  spirit  animates  all  Greek  art  at  this  period  is  shown  also 


352  THE  VATICAN 

by  an  athletic  figure  of  a  Discobolus,  who,  before  taking  the  swing, 
scrutinizes  the  ground  (Fig.  17).  The  most  admirable  characteristic  of 
this  figure  is  not  the  delicate  nude,  free  as  it  is  from  the  emptiness  of 
Myron;  nor  is  it  the  rhythm  of  the  posture,  at  once  so  elegant  and  so 
free.    It  is  the  concentration  with  which  the  athlete  makes  his  examina- 


Tlie  Nozze  Aldobraiulini   (I-'ig.  (iO) 
(Painting,  Graeco-Roman  Period) 

tion — a  concentration  which  is  exaggerated  if  you  w^ill,  but  which 
ennobles  and  almost  intellectualizes  the  action  which  the  Discobolus  is 
about  to  perform.  The  figure  seems  to  warn  us  that,  to  win  in  the  con- 
test, it  is  not  sufficient  to  possess  a  trained  body;  we  must  also  have  a 
trained  mind.    In  this  we  recognize  the  influence  of  the  art  of  Phidias. 

That  the  spirit  of  Phidias  dominated  Greek  art  throughout  the  sec- 
ond half  of  the  fifth  century  may  be  seen  also  in  a  fragment  of  a 
Boeotian  funeral  relief — an  original  showing  the  figure  of  a  Horseman 
(Fig.  18).  Noble  and  dignified,  this  bearded  man  evidently  wished 
that,  in  the  image  which  he  bequeathed  to  posterity,  he  should  be 
represented  at  his  favorite  diversion.  But  not  less  noble  and  ideal  is 
this  horse,  with  its  ample  neck,  its  intelligent  eyes,  and  its  spirited  head, 
which  tosses  proudly  at  the  touch  of  its  master.  In  both  figures  we 
have  an  echo  of  the  Cavalcade  of  the  Parthenon. 

Greek  Art  during  the  Fourth  Century. — Nobility  in  the  figures  of 
the  gods  and  dignity  in  the  figures  of  men — such  are  the  qualities 
which  characterize  the  great  artists  of  the  fifth  century.  But  in  time 
these  gods  in  their  nobility  grew  remote  from  men,  and  the  men  in 
their  dignity  grew  remote  from  reality.  The  art  of  the  fourth  century 
therefore  endeavored,  in  the  works  of  its  chief  masters,  to  make  the 
gods  more  human  and  men  more  real,  and  this  spirit  proved  especially 
productive  of  figures  of  deities. 

Even  the  Barberini  Hera  (Fig.  19),  which  belongs  to  the  first  part  of 
the  fourth  century,  bears  no  affinity  to  the  austere  matron  whom  we 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    353 


Detail  Irom  llic  ISozze  Aldobrandiiii  (1  ig.  01) 

have  seen  in  the  Demeter  of  the  Rotonda;  she  is  the  benevolent  god- 
dess who  bends  towards  mortals.  Instead  of  being  buried  in  a  heavy 
peplum,  her  upper  body  is  scarcely  veiled  by  a  fine  chiton,  the  himation 
being  added  only  from  her  waist  downwards.  Under  the  chiton  may 
be  seen  the  breast,  a  portion  of  which  is  uncovered.  Here  too  the  sug- 
gestion is  human,  and  not  divine.  And  human  grace  also  is  to  be  found 
in  the  delicate  oval  of  her  countenance,  and  in  the  eyes  fixed  on  her 
worshippers.  Not  reverence  but  confidence  is  the  feeling  which  the 
goddess  inspires. 

But  with  the  Barberini  Hera  we  are  only  half  way,  for  she  is  still  a 
goddess.  It  remained  for  Praxiteles  to  make  gods  who  were  truly 
human  and  shared  their  characteristics  with  mortal  men.  The  Vatican 
possesses  a  copy  of  his  Aphrodite  (Venus)  of  Cnidus  and  of  his  Apollo 
Sauroctonus. 

In  the  Aphrodite  (Fig.  20),  not  only  has  the  restorer  been  mistaken 
in  the  position  of  the  right  forearm,  which  he  places  too  low,  and  in  the 
left  arm,  which  he  raises  too  high;  not  only  has  he  given  a  wrong  posi- 
tion to  the  head,  which  belongs  to  another  copy,  and  should  in  this  fig- 
ure have  been  raised  somewhat  more  and  face  more  towards  the  left 
shoulder:  but  he  has  encased  the  lower  portion  of  the  figure  with  a 


354 


THE  VATICAN 


Detail  Irom  llic  .Nozzc  Akiobrandini  (Fig.  62) 

heavy  mantle  of  tin,  varnished  to  resemble  marble,  and  has  thus  com- 
pletely altered  the  original  aspect  of  the  figure.  Praxiteles  had  repre- 
sented the  goddess  at  the  moment  when  she  was  about  to  enter  her  bath, 
and  when  she  was  laying  aside  her  last  garment  on  the  water  vase  near 
her.  No  profane  look  was  supposed  to  fall  upon  the  goddess,  but  yet 
her  natural  modesty  and  bashfulness  impel  her  to  conceal  her  naked 
body.  No  fear  of  profane  looks,  however,  is  to  be  seen  in  the  delicate 
head,  which  seems  to  look  into  the  distance,  and  which  reveals,  in  the 
humid  eyes  and  half-open  lips,  the  slight  tremor  of  a  yearning  that 
transcends  mortality.  In  the  work  of  Praxiteles,  Aphrodite  is  a  woman, 
but  she  is  still  a  modest  one;  and,  if  she  lacks  divine  dignity,  she  has  still 
divine  charm. 

Another  graceful  image  is  that  of  the  Apollo  Sauroctonus  (Fig.  21). 
The  god  is  here  represented  as  a  gentle  youth  with  almost  feminine 
forms,  and  effeminate  also  is  the  coiffure  which  ends  in  a  knot  behind 
and  is  held  by  a  large  band.  With  beautiful  curves,  which  make  the 
unmasculine  development  of  his  hips  conspicuous,  he  rests  his  left  arm 
against  a  tree-trunk,  and  awaits  the  moment  when  he  can  transfix  the 
lizard  with  his  arrow.  Such  an  occupation  certainly  accords  ill  with 
the  dignity  of  a  god,  but  is  rather  a  prank  of  naughty  children.    And, 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    355 


Detail  from  the  Nozze  Aldobrandini  (Fig.  G3) 

even  though  at  the  root  of  this  conception  of  Apollo  there  was  orig- 
inally a  religious  significance,  the  spectator  no  longer  recognizes  in  this 
figure  either  the  god  of  the  bow  or  the  god  of  the  lyre. 

The  spirit  of  the  Praxitelic  School  is  also  seen  in  the  Torso  (Fig.  22), 
which  some  seek  to  identify  as  one  of  the  Erotes  created  by  Praxiteles. 
Very  few  statues  have  the  delicacy  of  this  nude  figure,  and  still  fewer 
have  the  fascination  of  this  beautiful  head.  The  boy's  forehead  and 
neck  are  hidden  under  a  wave  of  juvenile  curls,  and  he  seems  as  pre- 
occupied and  melancholy  as  if  he  knew  what  great  disturbance  his 
work  of  inspiring  love  has  wrought  in  the  heart  of  man.  Perhaps,  in- 
deed, he  has  fallen  a  victim  to  his  own  art! 

With  still  less  certainty  may  we  refer  the  so-called  Antinous  del  Bel- 
vedere (Fig.  23)  to  the  Praxitelic  School.  This  is  a  replica  of  a  statue 
of  Hermes  which  the  copyist,  by  adding  the  palm-trunk,  has  changed 
to  a  Hermes  Agonisticus,  and  which  the  restorer  has  somewhat  disfig- 
ured by  reattaching  badly  the  legs,  which  were  broken  when  found.  It 
is  most  probable,  however,  that  the  original  was  an  image  of  Hermes 
Psychopompus — that  is,  of  the  god  who  conducted  the  souls  of  the  dead 
to  Hades.  How  beautiful  is  this  firm  but  delicate  body,  in  which  the 
trunk  makes  a  sideward  movement  with  such  soft  grace!     But  even 


Head  of  Athena   (Fig.  01) 
(Mosaic,   Gra-co-Roman   Period) 


356  THE  VATICAN 

more  beautiful  is  the  shadow 
which  suffuses  the  face,  and  which 
is  emphasized  by  the  voluminous 
mass  of  curls  on  the  forehead,  by 
the  deep  furrows  beneath  the  eye- 
brows and  by  the  firm  planes  of 
the  jaws  and  chin.  The  god  is  ful- 
filling his  office,  but  he  fulfils  it 
with  compassionate  humanity;  he 
shares  in  the  sorrow  of  the  souls 
who  relinquish  life  with  yearning 
and  regret.  If  the  nude  body  and 
the  rhythm  of  the  lower  limbs 
seem  more  reminiscent  of  the 
School  of  Lysippus,  the  face  and 
above  all  the  forehead  remind  us 
of  the  Hermes  of  Praxiteles  at 
Olympia. 

Even  outside  the  Praxitelic  cir- 
cle, the  fourth  century  created  a 
plethora  of  juvenile  and  human  gods.  We  have  Apollo  as  the  god  of 
the  bow^  in  the  statue  of  the  Belvedere  (Fig.  24).  This  also  is  a  copy, 
but  an  excellent  one.  The  restorations  are  few,  and  are  limited  for  the 
most  part  to  the  left  hand  and  the  right  forearm.  The  god  certainly 
grasped  a  bow  in  his  left  hand,  and  in  his  right  hand  held  a  branch  of 
laurel  bound  with  ribbons,  as  traces  on  the  tree-trunk  show.  The  deity 
is  represented  in  the  two  aspects  of  his  divinity — as  a  numen  who  chas- 
tises and  a  numen  who  purifies.  He  wreaks  vengeance  on  men  when 
they  do  wrong,  but  relieves  them  of  their  guilt  when  they  approach  him 
humble  and  repentant.  This  is  the  god  who  in  the  first  book  of  the  Iliad 
chastises  the  Achseans  for  their  outrage  at  Chryse,  but  later  benevo- 
lently accepts  their  expiatory  hecatomb.  In  the  posture  of  the  statue 
the  artist  has  succeeded  admirably  in  rendering  these  two  aspects  of 
the  numen.  Rising  almost  on  the  point  of  his  toes,  Apollo  advances 
with  great  strides,  so  that  the  litheness  of  his  body  is  still  further  em- 
phasized. But  his  enemies  are  not  in  front:  before  him  are  his  faithful 
worshippers,  to  whom  he  brings  the  lustral  branch.  His  enemies  are 
on  the  left,  and  towards  them  he  turns  his  head,  menacing  them  with 
his  bow.  And  if  the  delicate  oval  of  his  face  and  the  broad  forehead 
suggest  that  the  god  is  good,  his  stern  and  frowning  eyes,  his  slightly 
dilated  nostrils,  and  his  half  parted  lips  indicate  that  he  can  also  feel 
ire — and  terrible  ire.    We  cannot  identify  with  certainty  the  artist  who 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    357 

could  thus,  in  the  language  of  forms,  give  expression  to,  not  one,  but 
two  states  of  the  soul.  Some  have  suggested  Leochares,  an  Athenian 
artist  of  the  second  half  of  the  fourth  century,  of  one  of  whose  authen- 
tic works  the  Vatican  possesses  a  copy. 

Not  with  the  stride  of  an  avenger,  but  to  the  rhythm  of  musical 
sounds,  does  Apollo  advance  in  another  statue  in  the  Vatican  Museum 
(Fig.  25).    The  quiver  has  been  exchanged  for  the  lyre,  which  also  is 


Sarcciijliagiis  showing  tlu-  Slaughter  (if  thi'  Niobiils  (Fig.  (i-'>) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 

supported  by  the  balteus.  His  body  sways  under  his  long  flowing 
chiton,  and  is  buried  in  his  large  mantle  as  in  the  shadow  of  a  niche. 
His  head  is  bound  with  the  crown  of  laurel,  but  at  this  moment  his 
thoughts  are  not  directed  towards  the  purification  of  men,  but  are  en- 
raptured by  his  music.  His  face  looks  upwards,  and  in  the  oval  eyes 
and  small  mouth  we  feel  the  sweetness  of  the  music  which  soothes  the 
heart  of  man.  How  long  a  road  we  have  traversed  in  less  than  two  cen- 
turies from  the  archaic  Seated  Apollo!  This  figure  of  the  Apollo 
Cithartedus  bears  clear  evidence  of  the  influence  of  Praxiteles. 

Together  with  this  Apollo  were  found  several  statues  of  Muses  who 
encircled  him.    Among  these  were  the  images  of  Melpomene,  the  Muse 


358 


THE  VATICAN 


Auguslus    (Fig.  fi6) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 


of  Tragedy  (Fig.  26),  and  Thalia, 
the  Muse  ^ of  Comedy  (Fig.  27). 
Though  the  artist  has  not  been  so 
liappy  in  these  two  tigures  as  in 
the  Apollo,  they  bear  evidence  of 
his  power  of  precise  characteriza- 
tion. Some  of  the  attributes  of  the 
figures  are  of  course  restorations, 
but  they  seem  to  have  been  cor- 
rectly divined,  and  correspond 
with  those  in  other  ancient  statues. 
In  the  Melpomene  the  left  fore- 
arm with  the  sword,  and  in  the 
Thalia  part  of  the  left  forearm 
with  the  tympan,  are  restorations. 
Ancient,  on  the  other  hand,  are, 
except  for  some  elements,  the 
tragic  mask  of  Hercules  and,  in 
Thalia,  the  comic  mask  of  the  ser- 
vant and  the  pedum  (crook). 
These  attributes  in  themselves  distinguish  between  the  literary  genres 
over  which  the  Muses  preside.  The  mask  of  Hercules  hints  at  the  abun- 
dant material  with  which  the  adventures  of  this  hero  had  furnished 
Tragedy;  the  servant's  mask  and  the  pedum  indicate  the  great  part 
which  domestic  and  rural  life  played  especially  in  the  New  Comedy. 
Melpomene's  crown  of  vine  and  Thalia's  crown  of  ivy  both  refer  to  the 
Dionysiac  origin  of  dramatic  literature.  But,  entirely  apart  from  their 
attributes,  the  two  figures  express  in  their  bodily  forms  different  senti- 
ments. The  posture  of  Tragedy,  who  rests  her  left  foot  on  a  high  block, 
suggests  her  agitation;  Comedy  sits  calmly  on  a  rock.  Tragedy's  dress 
is  simple  and  heavy  with  deep  folds;  Comedy  wears  a  fine  chiton,  while 
a  rich  mantle  is  wrapped  around  her  lower  limbs.  In  Tragedy  the  hair 
falls  loose  to  the  shoulders  and  descends  over  the  brow,  reminding  one 
of  the  oncus  which  lent  majesty  to  the  tragic  mask;  Comedy's  hair  is 
soft  and  elaborately  dressed.  The  face  of  the  former  is  energetic  and 
serious;  on  that  of  the  latter  there  is  a  wondering  look,  not  untinged 
with  melancholy. 

Full  sister  to  the  Apollo,  even  in  her  posture,  is  the  statue  of  Artemis 
(Fig.  28).  Critical  examination  of  this  ligure  must  be  limited  to  the 
body,  since  the  head,  though  ancient,  belongs  to  another  ilgure,  and  the 
two  arms  which  make  the  statue  an  Artemis  Lucifera  (Selene,  or  the 
Moon)  are  restorations.    The  quiver  behind  the  right  shoulder  shows. 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    359 

however,  that  in  this  statue  the  goddess  was  represented  as  a  huntress, 
and  held  the  bow  in  her  left  hand,  perhaps  as  she  approached  her 
quarry.  As  the  goddess  advances,  the  robustness  and  beauty  of  her 
youtliful  body,  which  reminds  us  of  the  Apollo  del  Belvedere,  show 
through  the  draperies  which  mould  her  limbs.  Even  the  austere  Vir- 
gin Huntress  has  been  made  a  mortal  woman  by  the  sensual  age  of 
Praxiteles,  which  has  sacrificed  divine  dignity  for  bodily  grace 

Even  in  the 
supreme  gods, 
was  less  inclined 
deference  to  the 
religious  tradi- 
this  spirit  of 
manity.  Far  dif- 
Zeus  of  Otricoli 
have  been  the 
at  Olympia.  Ac- 
cient  writers, 
solemn,  digni- 
but  in  the  agi- 
of  the  Zeus  of 
appears  to  be 
stormy  waves  of 
the  deep  and 
which  seem  so 
great  arched  eye- 
not  serenity  and 
and  disturbance. 


statues  of  the 
with  whom  art 
to  tamper  in 
great  strength  of 
tion,  is  reflected 
dominant  hu- 
ferent  from  the 
(Fig.  29)  must 
Zeus  of  Phidias 
cording  to  an- 
the  latter  was 
fied  and  calm; 
tated  forehead 
Otricoli,  which 
lashed  by  the 
his  hair,  and  in 
kindly  eyes, 
small  under  the 
brows,  we  read 
calm,  but  care 
Rather  than  the 
father  of  the  gods,  he  is  the  father  of  men— and  of  men  filled  with 
anxious  agitation. 

While,  in  comparison  with  the  numerous  statues  of  gods,  the  fourth 
century  created  few  figures  of  heroes  or  mortals,  all  of  these  figures 
show  the  general  tendency  of  the  period  to  aim  at  the  expression  of 
spiritual  rather  than  purely  physical  attributes.  That  we  cannot  trace 
such  an  expression  in  the  Meleager  (Fig.  30)  is  due  to  the  copyist.  The 
original  is  attributed  to  Scopas,  one  of  the  great  artists  of  the  fourth 
century.  But  not  only  is  it  probable  that  the  copyist  has  added  the  dog, 
the  head  of  the  boar  and  the  chlamys;  not  only  is  the  excessive  smooth- 
ness of  the  body  to  be  credited  to  him:  but  he  has  furthermore  failed  to 
retain  in  his  copy  that  characteristic  pathos  which  we  see  in  other 
replicas,  particularly  in  a  head  in  the  Villa  Medici.  Why  did  the  artist 
choose  this  hero  for  a  subject?   Perhaps  to  represent  a  beautiful  youth- 


Caius,  Nephew  of  Augustus  (Fig.  67) 
(Grffco-Roman  Period) 


360  THE  VATICAN 

fill  body,  or  perhaps  to  celebrate  an  adventurous  victory  like  that  over 
the  Calydonian  boar;  but  he  also  wished  to  show  that  not  even 
the  heroes  are  happy— not  even  they  can  escape  adverse  destiny.  In 
the  profound  and  melancholy  look  of  Meleager  is  expressed  the  pre- 
sentiment of  his  approaching  end,  of  which  his  own  mother  is  to  be  the 
voluntary  instrument. 

Art  now  begins  to  seek  in  the  myths  for  figures  which,  besides  the 
struggles  of  the  body,  will  indicate  also  the  struggles  of  the  soul.  Niobe, 
receiving  in  her  bosom  all  the  arrows  which  Apollo  and  Artemis  hurled 
against  her  fleeing  children,  was  taken  as  the  most  expressive  symbol 
of  mother's  love.  A  headless  statue  of  a  Niobid  (Fig.  31)  belongs  to  a 
group  of  this  kind,  of  which  we  can  now  gather  only  one  of  the  charac- 
teristics—that of  movement.  But,  though  perforce  judged  apart  from 
the  group,  what  an  eagerness  there  is  in  this  draped  figure  to  escape  the 
inexorable  vengeance  of  the  gods!  What  a  longing  for  the  safety  of  a 
mother's  arms  do  we  witness  in  the  violence  of  the  movement  whereby 
the  girl  tries  to  evade  death  by  rushing  to  her  who  gave  her  life!  If,  in 
the  bemeter  of  the  Rotonda,  the  fifth  century  gave  an  insurpassable 
embodiment  of  calm  dignity  in  the  folds  of  a  peplum,  the  fourth  cen- 
tury has  with  no  less  majesty  expressed  hurried  flight  in  the  flowing 
folds  of  a  chiton  and  himation. 

Not  a  horizontal  motion  but  an  ascending  one  has  been  attempted  in 
the  group  of  Ganymede  Carried  up  by  the  Eagle  (Fig.  32).  Although, 
from  archaistic  times,  Greek  art  had  grappled  with  the  problem  of 
flight,  in  all  previous  attempts  the  figures  (for  example,  of  Iris  or  Nike) 
were  represented  as  passing  before  the  spectator  or  descending  towards 
him.  Ganymede,  however,  ascends  to  Olympus;  and  if  the  problem 
was  too  difficult  for  statuary,  which  is  the  art  of  stability,  the  sculptor 
has  at  least  succeeded  in  conveying  his  intention  pretty  clearly.  The 
eagle,  as  if  conscious  of  its  precious  booty,  holds  Ganymede's  body  ten- 
derly behind  the  shoulders,  grasping  with  its  claws,  not  the  nude  flesh, 
but  the  chlamys.  A  minute  ago  Ganymede,  lying  with  his  dog  under  a 
tree,  was  amusing  himself  by  playing  on  the  syringa  (Pan's  pipes),  but 
now  he  is  being  borne  aloft  towards  the  sun.  The  heads  of  the  dog  and 
the  eagle,  which,  like  Ganymede,  look  upwards,  are  correctly  restored. 
And  in  these  three  bodies  of  varying  heights,  which  are  placed  near 
one  another  like  the  reeds  of  the  syringa,  the  artist  has  well  expressed 
the  fundamental  idea  of  the  scene  and  the  ascending  flight.  The  eagle 
looks  toward  Olympus;  Ganymede  towards  his  captor;  the  dog  towards 
its  master. 

The  Vatican  Museum,  which  has  so  many  fourth-century  figures  of 
gods  and  heroes,  has  only  one  athletic  ligure.    Such  a  lack  of  propor- 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    361 


Claudius   (Vig.  eS) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 


Titus  (Fig.  r>9) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 


tion  cannot  be  due  to  chance.  The  fifth  century  was  a  period  of  glory 
for  the  Hellenic  games.  In  the  fourth  century,  however,  just  as  litera- 
ture had  no  longer  a  Pindar  and  a  Bacchylides  to  celebrate  the  winning 
heroes,  sculpture  likewise,  grown  more  inquisitive  about  the  soul  than 
the  body,  pays  rarer  visits  to  the  palaestra.  But  the  Argolic  tradition 
which  had  developed  around  the  name  of  Polycletus  was  not  extin- 
guished; for  from  the  School  of  Sicyon  came  Lysippus,  the  greatest 
bronzist  of  the  fourth  century.  Of  his  Apoxyomenus  (or  athlete  scrap- 
ing the  sand  and  oil  from  his  body)  the  Vatican  possesses  an  excellent 
and  almost  intact  copy  (Fig.  33) .  A  moment's  comparison  of  this  figure 
with  the  Doryphorus  of  Polycletus  shows  the  new  method  adopted  by 
art  in  treating  the  body  of  the  athlete.  Lithe  forms,  elastic  movement, 
and  small  head — such  was  the  canon  or  standard  which  Lysippus  sub- 
stituted for  the  robust  and  heavy  type  of  Polycletus.  But  what  is  still 
more  striking  in  this  figure  is  the  thoughtful  and  almost  nervous  ex- 
pression of  the  face.  How  can  we  explain  so  much  emotion  in  so  banal 
an  action  as  that  of  scraping  one's  body?  The  concentrated  attention 
of  the  Discobolus  as  he  examined  the  ground  (Fig.  17)  could  be  appre- 
ciated in  view  of  the  action  which  was  to  follow,  but  the  vague  stare  of 
the  Apoxyomenus  can  be  explained  only  as  a  "manner"  of  an  age 
which,  even  to  the  athlete,  was  unable  to  give  the  empty  brains  assigned 
by  Polycletus  to  his  Doryphorus. 


362  THE  VATICAN 

The  Hellenistic  Period  of  Greek  Art.— The  fourth  century  had 
produced  an  abundance  of  figures  of  gods,  and  these  had  already  be- 
come too  human.  Hellenism  finished  the  work,  and  the  gods,  after 
losing  their  nobility,  are  deprived  of  their  divine  gracefulness.  We 
recognize  no  longer  a  goddess,  but  a  mortal  in  the  Crouching  Aphrodite 
(Fig.  34),  the  original  of  which  was  perhaps  the  work  of  the  Bithynian 
artist  D«dalus.  Far  from  being  disturbed  by  a  sense  of  modesty,  she 
boldly  takes  her  bath.  Having  composed  her  body  so  as  to  show  a 
harmonious  outline,  she  places  her  back  under  the  jet  of  cold  water. 
In  the  presence  of  the  Aphrodite  of  Praxiteles  the  spectator  feels  a  cer- 
tain embarrassment  at  having  indiscreetly  surprised  the  modest  god- 
dess; the  goddess  of  D^dalus,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  to  invite  at- 
tention. This  statue  touches  no  spiritual  chord;  its  appeal  is  simply 
sensual.    Divine  reverence  has  been  exiled  from  Greek  art. 

And  if  this  epoch  can  still  point  to  the  Jupiter  Serapis  (Fig.  35),  by 
the  Carian  artist  Bryaxis,  as  the  image  of  a  numen  which  still  retains  a 
solemn  dignity,  we  must  not  forget  that  this  work  was  created  under 
the  inspiration  of  another  religion— the  Egyptian— which  possessed  a 
greater  richness  of  faith.  The  Serapis,  in  fact,  was  intended  to  embody 
at  once  the  Greek  Hades  and  the  Egyptian  Osiris.  And  while  to  the 
Greek  conception  is  due  the  benevolence  of  the  face,  the  impress  of  the 
Oriental  conception  must  be  recognized  in  its  occultness,  which  is  lent 
by  the  confused  masses  of  the  hair,  and  in  its  fanaticism,  which  seems 
indicated  by  the  upturned  eyes. 

Unable  to  create  gods  any  longer,  Greek  art,  as  it  came  in  touch  with 
the  new  countries  which  welcomed  Greek  civilization,  creates  per- 
sonifications of  nature.  In  these  images  the  divine  sense  takes  refuge 
as  in  a  final  retreat.  Thus  a  pupil  of  Lysippus,  named  Eutychides,  cast 
in  bronze  an  image  of  the  city  of  Antiochia  on  the  Orontes  (Fig.  36). 
The  Tyche,  amply  wrapped  in  her  mantle,  sits  on  the  rocky  Silpios,  and 
at  her  feet  the  river  Orontes,  represented  as  a  youth,  emerges  with  the 
gesture  of  a  swimmer.  The  city  thus  dominates  as  a  queen  the  river 
which  rendered  her  plains  so  fertile.  The  head  of  the  goddess  is  an- 
cient but  not  the  original  one,  while  the  right  forearm  with  the  ears  of 
corn  and  the  arms  of  the  Orontes  are  modern.  But  even  if  we  leave 
these  details  out  of  consideration,  we  can  appreciate  well  the  naturalis- 
tic value  of  this  group  in  which  city,  mount  and  river  are  united  in  a 
harmonious  ensemble. 

Not  swimming  with  the  powerful  strokes  of  a  youth,  but  as  a  vener- 
able man  reclining  comfortably  on  his  ample  couch,  is  represented  the 
figure  of  the  Nile  (Fig.  37).  Reliefs  running  around  the  plinth  show 
the  flora  and  fauna  of  the  river's  banks.    Leaning  on  the  Sphinx,  which 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    363 


Julia!V|    (I'iK.    7") 
(Grseco-Hoinaii  I'ci  ioil  i 


Hadrian   (I"ig.  71) 
lOiopco-Roman  Period) 


Faustina  the  Elder  (Fig.  72) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 


Venus  Empress  (Fig.  7."!) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 


364 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Antinous  Braschi   (I'ig. 
(Grsco-Roman  Period) 


"-!> 


Head  of  Dacus  (Fig.  75) 
(GrjEco-Roman  Period) 


symbolizes  Egypt,  the  river-god  holds  in  his  left  hand  the  cornucopia 
(or  horn  of  abundance),  and  in  his  right  the  ears  of  corn — the  symbol 
of  the  fertility  which  his  inundations  bring.  Sixteen  little  boys  (mostly 
restorations)  personify  the  cubits  which  the  level  of  the  waters  rises, 
and  their  grouping  around  the  gigantic  body  of  the  god,  from  those 
who  play  with  the  crocodile  near  his  right  foot  to  those  who  have  vic- 
toriously clambered  to  the  top  of  his  shoulder  and  of  the  cornucopia, 
suggests  the  gradual  rising  of  the  flood.  Never  before  in  Greek  art  were 
infantile  and  adult  bodies  united  with  such  grace  and  humor,  and 
we  easily  recognize  in  this  work  the  Greek  spirit  which  w^as  trans- 
planted to  Egypt  in  the  Alexandrian  epoch. 

But  if  the  period  of  Hellenism  w^as  poor  in  gods  and  endeavored  to 
express  the  divine  idea  in  personifications  of  nature,  it  was  the  age  par 
excellence  of  those  semi-divine,  semi-human  beings  who  formed  the 
cortege  of  Poseidon  and  Dionysus;  it  was  the  epoch  of  the  Tritons  and 
the  Nymphs,  of  the  Centaurs,  Satyrs  and  Maenads.  These  figures  be- 
came as  abundant  as  the  gods  were  in  the  fourth  century,  and  in  them 
were  personified  every  human  passion  and  sentiment. 

Bearing  in  his  arms  a  gentle  nymph,  the  Marine  Centaur  (Fig.  38) 
dashes  boldly  over  the  waves.  Though  the  left  arm,  with  the  marine 
trumpet,  is  a  restoration,  we  believe  that  it  is  in  correspondence  with 
the  original.    The  Centaur  drowns  with  his  victorious  blasts  the  pro- 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    365 

tests  of  the  nymph,  to  which  one  Cnpid  lends  an  ear,  while  another  im- 
poses silence. 

Not  buoyant  triumph  but  the  infinite  melancholy  conveyed  by  the 
immense  plane  of  the  sea  is  reflected  in  the  eyes  of  this  other  being,  of 
whom  only  the  human  part  remains,  and  who  may  therefore  have  been 
either  a  Centaur  or  a  Triton  (F'ig.  39).  The  companions  of  Poseidon 
are  not  joyous  like  the  companions  of  Dionysus,  and  it  seems  as  if  a 
deep  sigh  escapes  from  the  lips  of  the  Triton — like  the  sigh  of  a  wave. 
The  grandiose  character  of  the  forms  proclaims  this  work  a  product  of 
the  School  of  Pergamos  rather  than  a  replica  of  a  figure  by  Scopas, 
who  was  the  first  to  portray  the  train  of  Poseidon  and  of  Amphitryon. 

Similarly  unjoyous  is  the  terrestrial  Centaur  crowned  with  vine- 
leaves  (Fig.  40).  He  too  looks  sighingly  upwards,  and  from  some  ex- 
tant intact  replicas  w^e  know  the  cause  of  his  sorrows:  he  is  the  victim 
of  a  little  Cupid  who  has  perched  on  his  back  and  guides  him  at  will. 

Greater  composure  is  found  in  the  companions  of  Dionysus,  who  are 
susceptible  of  more  soothing  affections  and  healthier  joys.  An  image 
of  fatherly  tenderness  is  seen  in  the  Silenus  holding  the  Infant  Diony- 
sus in  his  arms  (Hg.  41).  With  what  affection  Silenus  gazes  at  the 
young  god,  and  how  delicately  his  rough  hands  rest  on  the  tender  body 
of  the  child!  In  the  gracefulness  of  the  group,  in  the  rhythm  of  the 
posture,  and  in  the  fullness  of  the  nude  is  still  reflected  the  Praxitelic 
School. 

Gay  brotherly  camaraderie  characterizes  the  group  of  the  Young 
Satyr  carrying  Dionysus  astride  of  his  shoulders  (Fig.  42).  The  many 
restorations  have  certainly  misrepresented  the  original.  Besides  ele- 
ments of  minor  importance,  the  arms  and  legs  of  the  Satyr  are  restora- 
tions, and  so  are  the  head  and  a  large  part  of  the  arms  and  legs  of  the 
child.  We  cannot  be  much  astray  in  thinking  that  the  little  Dionysus 
had  a  whip  in  his  hand,  and  urged  onward  tyrannically  his  improvised 
steed.  The  lithe  forms  and  the  agility  of  the  movement  bespeak  the 
School  of  Lysippus. 

Finally  we  find  an  expression  of  purely  animal  joy  in  the  Faun  in 
rosso  antico  (Fig.  43).  He  has  replenished  his  hide  with  rural  fruits, 
and  gazes  rapturously  at  a  bunch  of  grapes — his  master's  gift  for  the 
recreation  of  the  mind!  Though  his  right  hand  with  the  grapes  is  a 
restoration,  its  correctness  is  attested  by  extant  similar  figures.  The 
red  marble  (rosso  antico),  which  was  perhaps  meant  to  reproduce  the 
earthy  color  of  the  skin;  the  animal  elements,  which  are  accentuated 
in  the  face  and  the  neck;  the  coarse  laugh,  which  causes  the  numerous 
wrinkles  about  the  mouth — all  of  these  make  the  figure  a  significant 
personification  of  primitive  rural  life. 


366 


THE  VATICAN 


iyStriRO¥£CIIjAD-L[tW 

L- VIBI VX'  FELICIO-  WVi  •  Vi  I-  lA-LLfRIAA/^ 

Scpuklual  Tablet  of  Lucius  Vibius  and  His  Wife  and  Sun   (I'ig.  7G) 
(Gra?co-Roman  Period) 

Just  as  in  the  group  of  the  Marine  Centaur  the  delicate  body  of  the 
nymph  was  retained  in  contrast  to  the  coarse  form  of  her  captor,  the 
Maenads  were  (unlike  the  Satyrs)  never  represented  as  coarse  or 
brutish  by  Greek  art.  On  the  contrary,  Hellenism  accentuated  their 
feminine  elements,  and  thus  offers  a  sharp  contrast  to  the  archaic  art 
on  the  vases.  The  Msenad  (Fig.  44)  is  an  image  of  delicate  grace.  The 
beautiful  forms  of  her  body  are  visible  through  the  light  chiton,  the 
graceful  curves  of  her  mantle  remind  one  of  the  sails  of  a  ship,  and  the 
light  rhythm  of  her  step  seems  that  of  a  dance.  We  cannot  extend  our 
examination  to  the  head,  which,  though  ancient  and  that  of  a  Maenad, 
does  not  belong  to  the  body. 

Its  preference  for  subjects  of  the  emotional  strength  which  it  strove 
to  lend  to  the  marine  and  Dionysiac  beings,  led  Hellenism  also  to  the 
investigation  of  the  myths.  From  the  fourth  century  w^e  witness  a  re- 
turn to  the  myth  of  the  Niobids,  and  to  such  a  group,  more  recent  than 
that  already  referred  to  (cf.  Fig.  31 ),  belongs  the  figure  of  a  young  fugi- 
tive Niobid  (Fig.  45).  This  cycle  of  statues,  the  most  complete  copy  of 
wdiich  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Uffizi  Gallery  at  Florence,  was  artistically 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    367 

conceived  as  radiating  from  the  central  figure  of  Niobe.  In  the  Vati- 
can statue  is  preserved  tlie  youngest  of  the  children,  who,  as  he  hurries 
with  long  strides  towards  his  mother,  looks  upwards  in  horror  at  the 
vindictive  gods. 

With  the  statue  of  Ulysses  (Fig.  46)  w^as  originally  grouped  the  figure 
of  Polyphemus.  The  foxy  hero  tenders  to  the  Cyclops  the  wine  which 
is  to  win  him  liberty;  but  in  the  original  his  gesture  was  dilferent  from, 
and  the  wine  bowl  larger  than,  that  shown  in  the  modern  restora- 
tions. The  attitude  of  the  figure  admirably  suggests  the  hero's  cautious 
advance  and  his  readiness  to  withdraw  hurriedly  if  he  should  detect 
any  sinister  intention  in  the  movements  of  the  giant  shepherd.  Art  has 
here  given  eloquent  expression  to  a  dubious  state  of  soul. 

Buried  in  sleep  and  panting  with  her  emotion,  Ariadne  (Fig.  47) 
dreams  of  the  desertion  of  Theseus  and  the  arrival  of  Dionysus.  Thus, 
though  the  statue  is  an  isolated  one,  we  reconstruct  it  mentally  as  a 
group,  and  witness  the  departure  of  the  hero  with  his  companions  and 
the  approach  of  the  god  with  his  train.  This  pregnant  conception, 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  Greek  art,  has  been  somewhat  inadequately 
treated  in  the  composition:  too  matronal  are  the  bodily  forms  of  the 
young  woman,  and  too  irregular  her  face.  The  drapery,  however,  with 
its  sumptuous  richness  of  folds,  gives  to  the  work  a  distinguished 
beauty  which  not  even  the  carelessness  and  lack  of  appreciation  of  the 
copyist  could  destroy. 

Tension  of  body  and  mind  is  seen  in  the  head  of  Menelaus  (Fig.  48), 
a  work  wdiich  was  once  part  of  a  group  representing  an  episode  of  the 
Trojan  War,  and  of  which  numerous  duplicates  are  extant.  Menelaus 
has  grasped  the  body  of  Patroclus,  and,  though  hard  pressed  by  the 
enemy,  endeavors  to  drag  it  out  of  the  melee.  The  divine  dignity  which 
Hellenism  can  no  longer  give  to  her  gods,  she  has  given  finally  to  one  of 
her  heroes,  but  from  this  open  mouth  also  escapes  a  human  outcry  of 
rage. 

Hellenism  reached  the  apex  of  expression  in  the  Laocoon  (Fig.  49). 
The  work  is  an  original  by  Agesander  and  his  two  sons,  Polydorus  and 
Athenodorus,  artists  of  Rhodes  who  lived  in  the  first  century  b.c.  The 
right  hand  of  the  elder  and  the  right  arm  of  the  younger  son  of  Laoc- 
oon are  restorations.  But  especially  mistaken  is  the  restoration  of  the 
right  arm  of  Laocoon,  which,  instead  of  stretching  away  from  the 
body,  should  have  been  bent  over  the  head;  the  group,  which  has  now 
an  unstable  appearance  on  the  left  side,  would  then  acquire  again  its 
pyramidal  aspect.  Twin  serpents  have  enmeshed  in  their  coils  the 
Trojan  priest  and  his  sons,  and  proceed  to  accomplish  the  divine  ven- 
geance for  Laocoon's  act  of  desecration.    This  is  the  terrible  and  blind 


368  THE  VATICAN 

vengeance  of  a  god  who  chastises  even  the  innocent  sons  for  the  fault 
of  their  father.  The  group  is  expressive  of  a  paternal  anguish  with 
which  the  maternal  grief  of  Niobe  alone  can  compare.  The  two  ser- 
pents have  hurled  the  father  and  the  younger  son  violently  against  the 
altar  on  which  they  were  sacrificing,  and  hold  firmly  near  it  the  elder 
son.  Already  strangled  by  the  huge  coils  and  bitten  in  the  breast,  the 
younger  boy  breathes  his  last  as  he  turns  his  glassy  eyes  upwards  seek- 
ing his  father.  The  elder  son,  less  involved  in  the  coils,  makes  a  me- 
chanical effort  to  loosen  the  coil  which  surrounds  his  left  foot,  but  it 
seems  as  if  almost  his  sole  concern  is  for  the  suffering  of  his  father. 
Laocoon,  bitten  in  the  side,  strives  to  push  away  the  serpent's  head,  and 
in  the  tension  of  the  movement  draws  in  his  breath,  while  a  convulsive 
shudder  passes  through  his  body.  Conquered  in  a  moment,  his  dread 
outcry  will  "rise  to  the  stars."  In  his  thrown  back  head,  as  at  the  apex 
of  a  triangle,  culminates  the  huge  wave  of  dolor  which  rises  from  his 
sons  and  his  own  tortured  body.  The  spasmodic  contraction  of  the 
muscles  makes  of  the  face  the  vital  target  of  the  divine  vengeance. 
Marvellous  unity  of  composition,  profound  anatomic  knowledge,  and 
an  incomparable  fusion  of  physical  and  mental  dolor  make  the  Laoc- 
oon the  most  emotional  and  most  human  creation  of  ancient  art. 

Compared  with  the  Laocoon,  the  Torso  del  Belvedere  (Fig.  50)  is  an 
image  of  calm.  Though  it  is  undoubtedly  the  work  of  some  master's 
chisel,  the  history  of  the  work  is  enveloped  in  the  greatest  uncertainty. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  the  artist  Apollonius,  son  of  an  xVthenian  named 
Nestor,  is  the  original  creator  of  this  work  which  bears  his  signature,  or 
a  mere  copyist.  We  cannot  say  to  what  exact  period  of  Hellenism  it 
belongs;  how  the  movements  of  the  head,  arms  and  legs  should  be  re- 
constructed; or  whom  it  represents — Polyphemus  or  Prometheus,  Mars 
or  Hercules.  But,  neglecting  the  aureole  of  mystery  which  surrounds 
it,  we  must  admire  the  figure  above  all  as  an  image  of  powerful  youth. 
Only  a  sculptor  who  was  at  once  a  profound  student  of  anatomy  and 
an  artist  of  sublime  conception  could  create  so  calm  and  so  well  linked 
a  composition  of  muscles  and  bones. 

From  what  we  have  already  said  it  will  be  recognized  that,  even  in 
the  Hellenistic  period,  the  nude  always  remained  the  central  problem 
of  Greek  art,  and  was  still  conceived  ideally.  In  the  fifth  century,  when 
strength  and  firmness  were  adopted  as  the  ideal  of  the  nude,  and  art 
aimed  at  the  expression  of  these  bodily  qualities  rather  than  of  the 
qualities  of  the  soul,  the  head  was  also  characteristic  of  strength  and 
firmness  rather  than  expressive  of  mental  qualities.  In  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, on  the  other  hand,  the  ideal  of  the  nude  was  grace  and  delicacy, 
and  in  harmony  with  this  conception  are  the  gentleness  and  benevo- 


iMUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    369 


Bu^-^^■ln.■t"  I'rom  the  Ar;i  Tatis  Au.misia'   (I'ig.  77) 
(Grseco-Roman  Period) 

lence  of  the  face.  During  the  Hellenistic  period,  however,  since  the 
ideal  of  the  nude  was  energy  or  relaxation  as  an  effect  of  a  physical  or 
psychological  condition,  the  body  became  subservient  to  the  head,  in 
which  was  concentrated  all  the  expression  of  the  soul.  Consequently  it 
was  not  a  pathological  preference  for  ugliness,  but  a  passionate  search 
for  a  more  eloquent  language  of  forms  which  spurred  Greek  sculpture 
to  abandon  the  palsestra — the  hothouse  of  beautiful  but  odorless  flow- 
ers— and  to  seek  in  the  streets  of  the  Hellenistic  cities  for  individuals 
on  whose  bodies  ethnic  origin  or  the  practice  of  certain  trades  had  im- 
printed a  condition  of  the  soul. 

Thus,  if  Hellenism  derived  pleasure  from  the  creation  of  the  figure 
of  the  Fisherman  (Fig.  51),  it  was  attracted,  not  by  his  trade,  but  by  this 
body,  which,  seasoned  and  warped,  is  a  commentary  on  the  brutishness 
of  the  face.  In  the  Laocoon  every  muscle  has  been  rendered  taut  by 
the  internal  shudder  which  the  desire  for  liberation  sends  through  the 
limbs;  in  the  Fisherman,  every  muscle  is  relaxed  as  the  result  of  the 
atony  and  colorlessness  of  his  wretched  life.  This  is  evidently  the  body 
of  an  old  man — but  of  an  old  man  in  whom  none  of  his  spiritual  energy 
survives,  as  is  shown  especially  by  his  glassy  eye  and  trembling  mouth. 

Even  in  portraiture  the  body  is  now  treated  as  the  mirror  of  the  soul. 


370  THE  VATICAN 

We  parted  with  Greek  portraiture  in  the  fifth  century  when  it  was  en- 
gaged with  the  nobility  and  dignity  of  Pericles;  we  meet  it  once  more  in 
the  Hellenistic  period,  engaged  with  the  melancholy  brooding  of  De- 
mosthenes (Fig.  52) .  Polyeuctus,  an  artist  of  the  third  century,  created 
the  original  of  this  statue,  which  was  erected  a  little  later  than  forty 
years  after  the  orator's  death.  Owing  to  the  mistaken  restoration  of 
the  forearms  with  the  rotula,  this  copy  represents  Demosthenes  as  a 
thoughtful  reader;  his  attitude  in  the  original,  wherein  his  hands  were 
linked,  represented  him  as  the  devoted  son  of  Athens,  mourning  for  the 
lost  liberty  of  his  city.  At  first  sight,  all  the  expression  seems  concen- 
trated in  the  lean  and  deeply  furrowed  face  and  in  the  small  fixed  eyes; 
but  expressive  also  are  the  lean  breast,  the  thin  arms,  the  crossed  fin- 
gers and  the  carelessness  with  which  the  himation  is  flung  around  the 
body.  The  hatred  of  Demosthenes  for  Philip  of  Macedon  is  an  affec- 
tion of  the  mind,  and  thus  does  not  directly  concern  the  body  and  dress. 
The  body  and  dress  are  therefore  used  to  reflect  his  sorrow. 

The  GryEco-Roman  or  Imperial  Period. — This  w^onderful  patrimony 
of  works,  accumulated  in  the  course  of  the  six  centuries  intervening  be- 
tween the  Archaistic  and  the  Hellenistic  period,  was  inherited  from  the 
Greeks  by  Roman  civilization.  The  attraction  which  the  Romans  at 
first  found  in  these  works  was  an  esthetic  one:  for  their  esthetic  pleas- 
ure they  had  copies  made  of  the  Greek  masterpieces,  and  it  is  mostly 
these  copies  which  we  have  here  used  in  tracing  the  course  of  the  devel- 
opment of  Greek  art.  Later,  when  the  Romans  availed  themselves  of 
this  artistic  patrimony  for  their  religious  and  social  needs,  they  did  not 
copy  the  Greek  originals,  but  readapted  them. 

An  archaic  type  of  Apollo,  dating  from  the  end  of  the  sixth  or  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century  e.g.,  was  transformed  by  the  Romans 
into  their  own  "Semo  Sancus  Deus  Fidius"  (Fig.  53).  Roman  art  of  the 
period  of  the  Antonines  (130-180  a.d.)  has  softened  the  nude  and  given 
more  freedom  to  the  hair,  but  has  preserved  the  posture  of  the  Greek 
original.  This  posture  has  also  been  correctly  interpreted  by  the  re- 
storer in  remaking  the  right  forearm  with  the  bow,  but  the  addition  of 
the  left  hand  with  the  bird  is  arbitrary.  It  is  noteworthy  that,  in  an  age 
when  deities  were  represented  even  in  the  immodest  position  of  the 
Aphrodite  of  Dsedalus,  this  rigid  figure  could  still  awaken  some  sense 
of  mysterious  religiosity. 

A  face  with  features  reminiscent  of  Polycletus,  or  at  least  of  the  art 
of  the  second  half  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  is  united  with  a  Hellenistic 
body  in  the  .luno  Sospes  Lanuvina  (Fig.  54).  The  arms  with  the  spear 
and  shield,  the  feet  and  the  serpent  are  restorations.  Covered  with  a 
goatskin,  the  goddess  stands  in  a  menacing  attitude;  but  the  spectator 


MUSEUM  OF  SCrLPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    871 

.1 


Honorary  High  lUlic  T  sliowinii  tlic  l-'isiirc  cif  Home  (Fig.  78) 
(Cira'co-Koman  Period) 

feels  not  so  much  the  religious  power  of  this  figure  as  an  artistic  irrita- 
tion, for  under  the  dignified  head  of  a  Greek  Hera  he  recognizes 
through  the  transparent  chiton  the  agile  limbs  of  a  Maenad.  This  work 
must  also  be  credited  to  the  superficial  religiosity  of  the  age  of  the  An- 
tonines. 

And,  when  Rome  had  to  create  figures,  not  of  her  own  indigenous 
gods,  but  for  the  new  Oriental  cults  which  were  spreading  throughout 
the  Empire,  she  had  recourse  always  to  the  Greek  tradition.  In  the 
Sacrifice  of  Mithra  (Fig.  55)— that  is,  the  Persian  Sun-God  overtak- 
ing and  stabbing  the  bull,  while  a  dog  and  serpent  lap  its  blood- 
Roman  art  has  reproduced  the  scheme  of  a  group  which  perhaps  dated 


372  THE  VATICAN 

back  as  far  as  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  and  represented  Victory  hurling  a 
bull  to  the  ground.  The  Classic  spirit  is  also  reflected  in  the  idealized 
face  of  Mithra. 

The  relief  showing  an  Isiac  procession  (Fig.  56)  is  Classicistic,  rather 
than  Classic.  Priests  and  priestesses  with  solemn  and  rigid  gait  carry 
the  symbols  of  the  goddess,  and  the  coldness  of  their  regular  features 
extends  also  to  the  channelled  and  parallel  folds  of  their  garments. 
Compared,  however,  with  this  procession,  that  to  the  figure  of  Artemis 


Sarcophagus  depicting  the  Triumph  of  some  General  (Fig.  79) 
(Grieco-Roman  Period) 

(Fig.  57)  seems  ridiculous — in  fact,  an  infantile  masquerade.  Artemis 
has  the  Greek  aspect,  but  in  the  exaggerated  gravity  of  the  children  the 
artist  vainly  tries  to  conceal  how  lacking  in  sincerity  is  Roman  reli- 
giosity. 

Even  when  Roman  art  descended  from  the  realms  of  the  gods  to 
mingle  with  men,  and  desired  to  honor  the  latter  not  for  their  bodily 
forms,  but  for  the  victories  they  had  won  in  contests  with  other  mor- 
tals; even  when,  in  distant  imitation  of  the  athletes  of  the  lifth  century, 
it  created  the  figure  of  the  Charioteer  (Fig.  58),  that  vulgar  type  of 
imperial  athlete  who  alone  continued  able  to  awaken  the  enthusiasm 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    373 


I'iiiiitiiig  from  the  Tomb  of  I'arnati's  (lig.  MO) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 

of  the  cosmopolitan  crowds  of  the  Empire — even  then  it  could  not 
forget  the  Polycletus  tradition.  We  certainly  have  in  this  figure  the 
powerful  thorax  of  the  Doryphorus  enveloped  in  the  corset  of  straps 
which  forms  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  work.  Moreover,  the  head, 
which  perhaps  belongs  to  the  figure,  and  the  arms  and  the  legs,  which 
are  correctly  restored,  remind  one  of  the  Greek  athlete. 

But  the  greatest  obsession  of  Roman  art  was  the  Greek  myth.  Ex- 
cluded from  the  decorations  of  the  temples,  it  invaded  the  homes  and 
the  sarcophagi — the  homes  in  the  guise  of  paintings,  and  the  sarcophagi 
in  the  guise  of  reliefs.  To  a  cycle  of  paintings  which  represented  the 
celebrated  sinners  of  antiquity  belongs  the  figure  of  Pasiphae  (Fig.  59) . 
This  cycle  decorated  the  walls  of  a  villa  and  illustrated  the  fatal  conse- 
quences of  guilty  love.  Pasiphae  seems  to  be  disturbed  by  a  presenti- 
ment of  the  opprobrium  which  her  guiltiness  wall  bring  down  on  her: 
she  hesitates,  and  in  this  hesitation  is  again  seen  the  strength  of  Greek 
art,  which  aims  at  expressing  sentiment  in  bodily  forms. 

Not  mythic,  but  full  of  religious  gravity,  is  the  most  beautiful  ancient 
painting  that  the  Vatican  possesses,  the  Nozze  Aldobrandini  (Figs.  60, 
61,  62  and  63) .  From  criminal  love  this  painting  takes  us  to  the  chaste 
apartment  of  the  bride,  who,  however,  also  seems  perturbed  and  trem- 
bling. Hymen,  the  god  of  marriage,  crowned  with  ivy  and  flowers,  sits 
impatiently  on  the  floor  near  the  couch.  Near  the  bride  is  seated 
Aphrodite,  who  calms  and  encourages  her,  while  the  friends  and  ser- 
vants of  the  bride,  confident  of  the  efficacy  of  Aphrodite's  eloquence, 
proceed  undisturbed  with  their  preparations  for  the  nuptial  cere- 
monies, music  and  lustrations.    We  believe  that  an  Hellenistic  artist 


374  THE  VATICAN 

would  have  conceived  in  no  different  spirit  the  scene  in  which  the  hesi- 
tating Helen  is  persuaded  to  follow  Paris,  for  the  figure  of  Hymen 
might  also  be  that  of  the  waiting  bridegroom  or  lover. 

In  the  Roman  homes  the  myths  extended  from  the  paintings  on  the 
walls  to  the  mosaics  on  the  floor.  All  gracefulness  of  forms  and  all  ex- 
pression of  sentiment  are  lost  in  these  crude  works,  wherein  the  myths 
are  reduced  to  a  purely  ornamental  element.  Even  the  head  of  the 
stern  Athena  may  be  trampled  on  in  a  mosaic  (Fig.  64);  and  while  the 
artist,  preoccupied  with  the  decoration,  has  surrounded  it  with  an  segis 
resembling  the  calyx  of  a  flower,  he  has  not  been  able  to  rid  it  of  that 
pathetic  expression  which  Hellenism  finally  gave  to  all  her  figures, 
whether  heroic  or  divine. 

But  departing  from  the  Roman  home,  resounding  with  life,  let  us 
approach  the  solemn  peace  of  the  tomb,  and  there  again  we  shall  find 
the  spiritual  Greek  ideal  triumphant  in  its  myths.  On  one  of  the 
sarcophagi  we  are  once  more  confronted  with  the  terrible  scene  of  the 
Niobids  (Fig.  65).  Apollo  and  Artemis  hurl  their  arrows  from  either 
side  of  the  group,  while,  supported  and  sheltered  by  their  mother, 
nurse  and  pedagogue,  the  innocent  children  vainly  strive  to  escape  the 
divine  vengeance.  But  the  Roman  who  ordered  the  reliefs  for  sarcoph- 
agi of  this  character  felt  in  his  soul  a  sensation  entirely  different  from 
that  which  he  experienced  when  he  contemplated  the  statues  of  the 
Hellenistic  group  gathered  on  the  rocky  wall  of  a  public  garden.  In  the 
group  in  the  garden  he  admired  only  the  strong  expression  of  sorrow; 
in  the  relief  of  the  sarcophagus  he  saw  foreshadowed  the  fatality  of 
death  which  must  sooner  or  later  overtake  every  man. 

Leaving  the  gloomy  atmosphere  of  Greek  fatalism,  let  us  now 
breathe  for  a  while  the  vital  air  of  the  Roman  hills.  Here  is  an  atmo- 
sphere of  honor  and  imperial  power,  for  the  people  who  dominated  the 
world  in  politics  could  not  be  mere  slaves  in  art.  They  have  certainly 
copied  and  readapted,  but  they  have  also  created  the  two  genres  most 
intimately  related  with  their  life — the  honorary  portrait  and  the  com- 
memorative relief. 

Both  genres  are  found  united  in  one  figure  in  the  Vatican — the  Au- 
gustus found  at  Prima  Porta  in  the  Villa  of  Livia  (Fig.  66).  This 
statue,  which  is  intact  except  for  some  insignificant  elements,  presents 
the  emperor  as  a  general  haranguing  his  soldiers,  but  in  his  left  hand 
Augustus  must  have  held  a  spear  rather  than  a  sceptre.  The  Cupid  with 
the  dolphin  at  the  foot  of  the  statue  may  refer  to  the  origin  of  the  Gens 
Julia,  which  claimed  descent  from  Venus.  This  statue  does  not  offer 
any  original  element  in  its  posture  to  distinguish  it  from  Greek  figures, 
nor  is  there  anything  particularly  Roman  in  the  mantle,  the  rich  folds 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    375 


Scirciiphagus  of  St.  Helena  (Fig.  81) 
(Graeco-Roman  Period) 

of  which  envelop  the  emperor's  thighs.  The  real  artistic  value  of  the 
work  lies  in  the  face  of  the  emperor  and  in  the  cuirass.  The  face  ex- 
presses the  tranquil  majesty  of  the  man  accustomed  to  command,  while 
the  regular  hair,  the  broad  forehead,  the  round  eyes  and  the  delicate 
mouth  seem  almost  to  idealize  his  expression.  The  sculptor  portrays 
Augustus  in  the  fifth  decade  of  his  life,  but  idealizes  rather  than  exactly 
copies  nature.  In  the  cuirass  the  great  deeds  of  the  emperor  are  lauded 
in  commemorative  reliefs.    Below  is  the  earth,  happy  under  the  rule 


376  THE  VATICAN 

of  Augustus;  the  two  children,  the  horn  of  abundance,  and  the  tympan 
of  Cybele  attest  to  its  fertility.  Above  are  Apollo  with  the  gryphon  and 
Artemis  with  the  stag,  the  two  divinities  beloved  of  Augustus  and  con- 
ceded so  important  a  part  by  him  in  the  Liidi  Scvculares.  And  on  this 
happy  earth,  under  the  mighty  arch  of  the  sky,  a  new  day  is  about  to 
dawn,  for  we  see  the  chariot  of  the  sun  advancing,  preceded  by  the 
personifications  of  Aurora.  This  is  the  new  day  on  which  the  Roman 
army  recovered  from  the  Parthians  the  military  insignia  taken  from 
the  legions  of  Crassus  at  the  battle  of  Caere.  The  return  of  these  in- 
signia is  represented  in  the  two  central  figures  of  the  cuirass.  To  the 
right  of  this  group  sits  Gallia,  defeated  in  her  Aquitani,  and  to  the  left 
Hispania,  tamed  in  her  Celtiberi — two  other  exploits  of  the  reign  of 
Augustus.  If  Phidias  gathered  together  the  myths  of  remote  ages  on 
the  shield,  the  sandals  and  the  pedestal  of  his  Athena  Parthenos,  the 
Roman  sculptor  summarizes  recent  glories  in  a  few  figures  on  onelorica. 

After  the  statue  of  Augustus,  which  is  in  itself  a  synopsis  of  imperial 
art,  we  shall  examine  separately  the  two  genres  of  Roman  art — the  por- 
trait and  the  honorary  relief.  In  the  supposed  Caius  (Fig.  67),  nephew 
of  Augustus,  we  have  a  delightful  childish  head,  to  which  the  large  skull 
and  the  conspicuous  ears  lend  individuality,  while  the  almond-shaped 
eyes,  the  mouth,  and  the  small  chin  lend  an  ideal  grace. 

Wearing  the  civic  crown  of  oak  and  bearing  the  attributes  of  Jupiter, 
Claudius  presents  himself  for  the  adoration  of  his  subjects  (Fig.  68). 
The  restorer  has  appropriately  placed  the  sceptre  in  his  left  hand;  his 
right  hand,  however,  should  rather  have  held  the  thunderbolt.  But  let 
us  forget  this  most  unrealistic  figure  of  Jupiter  and  examine  the  face 
of  the  emperor.  The  artist  was  certainly  no  flatterer,  for  we  seem  to 
discern  in  the  features  the  narrow  intelligence  of  him  who  devoted  so 
much  attention  to  erudite  studies  concerning  the  Etruscan  Sphinx. 

And  here  before  us  is  the  benevolent,  though  sensual  and  almost  em- 
barrassed face  of  Titus  (Fig.  69).  His  bulky  frame  is  buried  under  the 
immense  folds  of  his  toga,  and  his  square  face  corresponds  to  the  shape 
of  his  body.  Near  him  we  see  that  intellectual  and  bold  portrait  of  a 
matron  of  his  period,  perhaps  that  of  his  own  daughter  Julia  (Fig.  70). 
The  head  has  been  placed  on  a  greatly  restored  body  belonging  to  Clas- 
sical Attic  art.  Coming  to  the  second  century,  we  recognize  in  the  head 
of  Hadrian  (Fig.  71)  a  mobile,  intelligent  and  open  spirit,  while  in  the 
image  of  Faustina  the  Elder,  wife  of  Antoninus  Pius  (Fig.  72),  we  have 
the  most  authentic  type  of  the  woman  of  ancient  Rome — a  type  at  once 
energetic  and  sensual.  To  a  still  later  period  belongs  the  statue  of  the 
Venus  Empress  (Fig.  73),  to  which  reference  has  been  already  made  at 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 


Sarcophagus  of  St.  Constantia  (Fig.  82) 
(Graco-Roman  Period) 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    377 

But  Roman  portraiture  does  not 
restrict  itself  to  imperial  ligures: 
in  the  statues  of  Antinous,  beloved 
of  and  deified  by  Hadrian,  it  strove 
to  create  an  ideal  of  melancholy 
and  dreamy  beauty.  In  the  Antin- 
ous Braschi  (Fig.  74),  the  young 
Bithynian  is  represented  as  Dio- 
nysus, but  only  the  nude  parts  of 
the  figure  are  original.  He  leans 
his  head  towards  his  strong  and 
square  shoulder — not  out  of  be- 
nevolence towards  his  adorers,  as 
a  Greek  god  might  do,  but  because 
he  is  oppressed  by  his  inner  sor- 
row and  by  the  mental  obsession 
which  will  drive  him  to  suicide. 
In  the  head  and  features  of  the 
noble  chieftain  prisoner  Dacus 
(Fig.  75),  Roman  art  has  expressed  his  ethnic  characteristics  and  the 
sorrows  of  defeat  and  slavery. 

If  we  are  tempted  to  believe  that  Roman  portraiture  owed  all  its  ex- 
pressive strength  to  the  inspiration  which  it  drew  from  the  imperial 
dignity,  or  from  subjects  (like  Antinous  or  Dacus)  in  which  such  dig- 
nity was  reflected,  the  sepulchral  tablet  of  L.  Vibius  and  his  wife  and 
son  (Fig.  76)  will  help  to  modify  somewhat  this  view.  Though  the 
work  of  a  modest  marble-worker,  it  shows  the  scope  of  this  art.  We 
read  vulgarity,  old  age  and  ugliness  in  the  irregular  lines  of  the  faces 
of  the  couple;  and,  if  their  child  in  the  middle  has  a  more  delicate  ex- 
pression, his  large  sail-like  ears  prove  clearly  that  he  is  his  father's  son, 
and  that  at  some  future  day  the  flower  will  develop  from  the  bud! 

Turning  now  to  the  votive  reliefs,  we  find  that  the  Vatican  possesses 
a  slab  from  the  Ara  Pacis  Augustae  (Fig.  77),  that  monument  wiiich 
Augustus  erected  in  the  Campus  Martins  on  his  return  from  Gaul  and 
Spain  (13  a.d.).  In  the  reliefs  was  represented  the  imperial  procession 
which  went  to  assist  at  the  sacrifice.  The  slab  in  the  Vatican  preserves 
that  part  of  the  cortege  which  walked  towards  the  right:  some  lictors, 
a  veiled  priest  and  men  wearing  the  toga  form  the  group.  Our  thoughts 
turn  instinctively  to  a  similar  scene — the  cortege  of  the  Parthenon. 
And  if  here  we  do  not  find  the  grace  and  nobility  of  the  figures  of 
Phidias,  if  we  miss  the  harmonious  rhythm  of  his  cavalcade,  we  behold 
all  the  sober  dignity  of  the  Romans  and  the  compact  mass  of  the  im- 


378  THE  VATICAN 

perial  crowd.  In  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon  we  witness  the  advance  to 
the  conquest  of  the  ideal;  in  the  frieze  of  the  Ara  Pacis  we  witness  the 
advance  to  the  conquest  of  the  real  world.  Posture,  drapery,  and  the 
expression  of  the  faces — all  in  the  Ara  Pacis  seems  to  personify  the 
solid  strength  of  Rome. 

Rome  herself,  bearing  a  banner  in  her  left  hand  and  mingling  with 
the  crowd,  precedes  the  chariot  of  the  triumpher  in  an  honorary  high 
relief  (Fig.  78).  We  do  not  know  to  what  public  monument  it  be- 
longed, but  it  too  is  certainly  a  work  of  the  first  century  after  Christ. 
Although  the  work  is  much  restored — the  head  of  Rome  being  one  of 
the  more  important  restorations — this  scene  of  the  Empress  City  open- 
ing her  way  through  the  crowd  remains  one  of  the  best  expressions  that 
art  has  given  of  the  imperial  idea. 

The  glory  of  the  Roman  army  and  the  apotheosis  of  the  emperor  are 
celebrated  on  the  pedestal  of  the  honorary  column  of  Antoninus  and 
Faustina,  which  M.  Aurelius  and  L.  Verus  erected  not  far  from  the 
Obelisk  of  Augustus.  This  pedestal  is  now  in  the  Cortile  delta  Pigna. 
Two  of  the  sides  contain  a  scene  showing  a  review  of  the  army,  perhaps 
in  honor  of  the  emperor  (see  page  28) :  horsemen  with  their  banners 
ride  in  a  circle  around  the  legionaries  carrying  the  ensigns.  On  the 
main  face  of  the  pedestal,  in  the  presence  of  the  imperial  figure  of 
Rome,  Antoninus  Pius  and  Faustina  are  borne  aloft  from  the  Campus 
Martins  (personified  as  a  youth  lying  on  the  ground  and  holding  in  his 
left  hand  the  Obelisk  of  Augustus)  to  Olympus,  seated  on  the  wings 
of  a  genius  and  accompanied  by  two  eagles  (see  page  29).  In  these 
eagles,  in  the  figure  of  the  celestial  globe  which  the  genius  holds  in  his 
left  hand,  and  in  some  other  elements,  there  might  be  traced  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Mithraic  cult  and  of  the  religious  spirit  of  the  Orient;  but  in 
the  general  conception  of  the  scene,  in  this  Rome  which  salutes  her 
own  deified  emperors,  we  can  recognize  only  the  imperial  sense  which 
dominated  Roman  art. 

That  this  imperial  sense  was  shared  by  the  generals  and  magistrates 
who  upheld  the  Roman  ideal  in  remote  provinces  among  uncivilized 
nations,  we  see  from  the  slab  of  a  sarcophagus  celebrating  their  deeds 
(Fig.  79).  Some  prisoners  are  seated  under  the  trophies  of  victory, 
while  a  genius  bearing  a  palm  branch  places  a  crown  on  the  head  of  the 
general,  before  wdiom  the  conquered  enemy  kneels  imploringly. 

And  if  the  emperor  had  his  apotheosis,  if  the  general  recorded  his 
victories  in  stone,  why  should  not  the  modest  boatman  perpetuate  on 
his  tomb  in  a  still  more  modest  manner  the  field  of  action  of  his  daily 
life?  In  one  ancient  painting  (Fig.  80)  we  see  "Magister  Farnaces,"  the 
pilot,  superintending  the  loading  of  his  boat.    The  idea  of  representing 


MUSEUM  OF  SCULPTURE  AND  ANCIENT  PAINTINGS    379 

so  insignificant  and  banal  an  incident,  and  in  sucli  poor  forms,  would 
never  have  occurred  to  a  Greek  of  tlie  Classical  period;  it  occurred  to  a 
Roman  because  his  little  freight-boat  was  to  the  modest  boatman  what 
the  ship  of  state  was  to  the  emperor.  And  we  notice  that  Farnaces  is 
given  the  same  dominating  position  at  the  poop  of  his  tub  as  Antoninus 
and  Faustina  occupy  on  the  wings  of  the  genius  between  two  eagles. 

But  an  art  which  was  born  and  triumphed  together  with  a  political 
ideal  was  doomed  to  decay  as  this  ideal  faded;  and  the  fascination  of 
the  imperial  idea  waned  long  before  the  actual  fall  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. That  art  alone  is  vital  and  lasting  whose  roots  reach  deep  into  the 
heart  of  man;  and  such  art  is,  above  all,  the  religious.  Though  the  im- 
perial art  of  Rome  had  also  clothed  itself  in  a  vague  religiosity;  though 
sometimes,  in  figure  and  posture,  it  had  made  of  the  emperor  a  god,  it 
never  ceased  to  be  an  art  which,  instead  of  rising  from  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  was  imposed  upon  the  people  by  the  state.  And,  since  the 
l3eauty  and  idealism  of  a  conception  are  dependent  on  the  suggestive 
capacity  of  the  subject,  the  tigures  in  imperial  art  grew  poor  and  grace- 
less as  the  attraction  of  imperialism  declined.  Of  this  growing  poverty 
we  have  already  seen  an  indication  on  the  pedestal  of  the  column  of 
Antoninus  and  Faustina:  not  on  the  side  where  the  artist  availed  him- 
self of  Greek  models  for  Rome,  the  Campus  Martins  and  the  genius, 
but  on  the  two  sides  containing  the  review.  What  a  decay  there  has 
been  in  both  composition  and  forms  from  the  dignified  cortege  of  the 
Ara  Pacis  to  this  childish  carrousel! 

But  poverty  of  forms  is  not  so  fatal  for  art  as  poverty  of  inspiration 
or  subject.  If  the  inspiring  idea  be  rich,  some  day  forms  also  will 
flourish.  That  this  is  true,  has  been  proved  by  an  art  which  appeared 
in  the  midst  of  this  very  civilization  at  the  moment  when  the  imperial 
idea  began  to  wane.  This  art  is  the  Christian.  Its  first  ligures  have  an 
aspect  similar  to,  where  not  uglier  than,  the  tigures  of  contemporary 
Roman  art.  In  the  Catacomb  paintings  of  the  third  and  fourth  cen- 
turies, Moses  resembles  our  "Magister  Farnaces."  But  this  new  art 
sprang  from  a  religion  which  had  won  the  whole  heart  of  man;  and  the 
Bible  and  the  Gospel  of  Christ  had  an  inspiring  force  altogether  differ- 
ent from  that  exerted  by  the  imperial  idea.  Consequently,  some  day 
this  Moses  will  become  the  Moses  of  Michelangelo. 

And  the  Vatican  Museum  possesses  two  works  which,  while  charac- 
terized by  an  equal  poverty  of  forms,  seem  to  forecast  the  different 
destinies  which  awaited  the  Empire  and  Christianity.  These  works  are 
the  sarcophagi  of  St.  Helena  (Fig.  81)  and  St.  Constantia  (Fig.  82).  In 
the  former  we  have  the  notes  of  imperial  war  and  glory:  horsemen 
pass  in  triumph  above,  while  barbarians  are  dragged  into  captivity 


380  THE  VATICAN 

below.  The  second  sarcophagus  is  filled  with  an  atmosphere  of  natural 
peace  and  glory:  some  Cupids  gather  and  press  the  grapes,  and  in  this 
scene  the  Christian  saw  symbolized  the  good  work  which  the  faithful 
perform  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  while  in  the  lamb  and  the  peacock 
Ijelow  he  saw  the  symbols  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  immortality.  And 
if  there  is  still  imperial  buoyancy  in  the  sarcophagus  of  St.  Helena  and 
Christian  humility  in  that  of  St.  Constantia,  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  buoyancy  and  the  humility  will  be  reversed.  The  barbarians 
who  now  bend  their  captive  heads  under  the  hoofs  of  the  Roman  horses 
will  soon  raise  them  menacingly  and  will  overthrow  the  Empire,  while 
the  humble  Faith  which  masks  itself  under  the  symbols  of  the  peacock, 
the  Cupid  and  the  lamb,  will  victoriously  extend  its  dominion  through- 
out the  earth. 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS 


Ihe  Gallery  of  Inscriptions  is  situated  along  the  cor- 
ridor built  by  Bramante  to  link  the  old  palace  of 
Nicholas  V  and  Alexander  VI  (the  Borgia  Tower 
and  Appartamento)  with  the  smaller  palace  built  by 
Innocent  VllI  in  the  Belvedere.  The  collection  of 
ancient  inscriptions  was  begun  under  Clement  XIV, 
the  real  founder  of  the  Vatican  Museum,  and  was 
enriched  by  Pius  VI,  the  slabs  being  set  in  the  walls 
of  the  Bramante  Corridor  near  the  Pio-Clementino  Museum.  But  at 
a  later  date  Pius  VII,  anxious  to  place  his  Chiaramonti  Museum  here, 
had  the  slabs  taken  to  the  other  end  of  the  corridor,  which  is  adjacent 
to  the  lowest  tier  of  the  Loggie,  near  the  Appartamento  Borgia.  This 
collection  of  inscriptions  comprises  those  formerly  assembled  in  the 
Vatican,  together  with  those  which  were  brought  together  from  various 
quarters  by  Cardinals  Zelada,  Galletti,  Di  Pietro  and  Capponi,  and 
many  inscriptions  discovered  by  that  famous  epigraphist,  Gaetano 
Marini,  not  to  mention  the  many  marbles  found  in  the  excavations  made 
by  the  papal  authorities  at  Rome  and  Ostia  or  bought  from  various 
dealers  in  antiquities.  Many  new  additions  w^ere  made  to  the  collec- 
tion under  Leo  XIII  and  Pius  X. 

Altogether  these  inscriptions  number  more  than  3000,  and  thus  form 
the  greatest  collection  of  ancient  writings  on  stone  in  the  world.  While 
this  gallery  appeals  in  a  special  manner  to  the  student  of  ancient 
epigraphy,  who  will  here  find  the  richest  materials  for  his  researches, 
it  also  holds  a  wonderful  interest  for  every  visitor  who  has  some  know- 
ledge of  history  and  classical  antiquity.  Gaetano  Marini  classified  the 
collection  in  accordance  with  the  critical  archaeological  ideas  of  his 
time,  and  although,  had  the  work  to  be  done  anew,  a  different  arrange- 
ment would  be  followed  to-day,  yet,  out  of  respect  for  the  great  ar- 
chaeologist who  planned  it,  it  has  been  thought  fit  not  to  make  any 
change.  There  is  another  reason  for  retaining  the  present  arrange- 
ment, namely,  the  fact  that  many  of  the  inscriptions  have  been  de- 
scribed in  various  works  (for  example,  the  "Corpus  Inscriptionum 
Latinarum"),  wherein  their  position  in  the  Vatican  Gallery  is  indicated. 
Persons  wdio  wish  to  examine  the  collection  properly  should  begin 

n  381 ;] 


POPYLVSOyE 
RDMANVS^ 


„:MAKTlSi 

ligV^lof  BLI  . 


yv\h 


Inscription  found  near   the   Site  of 
the  ancient  Temple  of  Mars 


382  THE  VATICAN 

at  the  gate  leading  to  the  gallery  from  the 
lowest  tier  of  the  Loggie,  near  the  Apparta- 
mento  Borgia,  and  follow  the  line  of  the 
walls,  on  which,  as  we  go  along,  we  shall 
point  out  the  most  important  inscriptions. 
Having  reached  the  Chiaramonti  Museum 
at  the  end  of  the  gallery,  we  shall  pass 
through  that  museum,  and  pay  a  visit  to  the 
first  two  rooms  of  the  Pio-Clementino  Mu- 
seum, where  recently,  through  the  munifi- 
cence of  Pius  X,  three  remarkable  groups  of 
inscriptions  have  been  set  up  as  a  fine  com- 
plement to  the  Gallery  of  Inscriptions. 

On  the  left  as  you  enter,  between  the  two 
screens,  is  a  large  inscription,  found  near 
the  door  of  St.  Sebastian's  on  the  Appian 
Way,  where  the  Temple  of  Mars  Outside  the 
Walls  once  stood.  This  temple  was  dedi- 
cated in  368  A.u.c.  (386  b.c),  after  the  Gallic 
War,  and  is  famous  in  Roman  history.  The 
inscription,  which  belongs  to  the  later  days  of  the  Republic,  records  the 
work  of  levelling  the  slope  that  led  from  the  Appian  Way  to  the  temple, 
and  which  was  carried  out  by  the  Senate  at  public  expense. 

In  the  vestibule  which  leads  to  the  gallery  a  few  inscriptions  have 
recently  been  placed.  They  were  brought  here  from  a  hall  near  the 
sacristy  of  St.  Peter's,  wdiere  they  had  been  set  up  in  the  days  of  Pius  VI 
because  some  of  them  had  been  found  during  the  w^ork  connected  with 
that  building.  The  most  important  among  them  are:  on  the  left,  that 
relating  to  Ursus  Togatus,  a  ball-player  whose  victories  in  the  Baths  of 
Nero,  Titus  and  Trajan  are  recorded;  on  the  right,  the  record  of  a 
charioteer  in  Nero's  time,  containing  the  names  of  his  winning  horses 
and  enumerating  his  victories.  Below  the  latter  is  a  small  inscription 
relating  to  a  circus  charioteer  named  Scirtus,  again  giving  the  names 
of  his  horses  and  the  number  of  his  victories. 

Wall  1  contains,  on  the  right,  an  advertisement  or  announcement 
concerning  a  bathing  establishment  in  the  country,  which  tells  that  the 
latest  improvements  have  been  made  and  that  all  the  city  comforts  will 
be  found  there  {more  iirhico  omnis  humanitas  prcvstatur) .  Note- 
worthy also  are  the  inscriptions  concerning  a  woman's  association 
{collegium  mulieriim),  and  an  association  of  wine-merchants  who 
lived  in  taverns  or  huts  {collegium  vinariorum  in  camibis  consislen- 
tium ) . 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS 


383 


it,t,iHH  ;ooy  &qvQMD!\Wf^]f 

(V.ST  IT  ( AMCOIV  t'Mi\T8t-A;\U, 

iM;U>MTl;tHMMft;\3 

(KX)VM'UV!:.\VCr;JlMI5^MVMC 


Inscription  in  HixanutcT  Verse  with  Letters  in  Reliif 

Wall  3  shows,  on  the  right,  a  votive  relief  with  an  inscription  con- 
cerning Marcus  Quartinius  Remus,  a  Sabine  soldier  of  the  Seventh 
Praetorian  Cohort,  called  the  Antonine  Cohort  in  the  days  of  Caracalla. 
It  relates  how,  in  answer  to  a  vision,  he  dedicated  this  monument  to  five 
divinities  who  are  carved  on  it,  with  their  names  above — Saturn,  Mars, 
Jupiter,  Mercury  and  Hercules.  There  is  a  curiosity  among  inscriptions 
on  this  very  wall,  namely,  an  inscription,  with  the  letters  in  relief  and 
in  hexameter  verse,  relating  to  the  tomb  of  a  Roman  judge  named  Cas- 
sius  Agrippinus. 

On  Wall  7,  to  the  right,  we  see  a  sepulchral  marble  slab  on  which  are 
sculptured  in  relief  two  raised  arms  with  the  hands  opened.  The  in- 
scription records  the  protest  of  a  young  woman  named  Procope  against 
the  deity  who  caused  her  to  die  so  young:  procope  manvs  lebo  [levo] 
CONTRA  DEVM  Qvi  ME  iNNOCENTEM  svsTVLiT.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
Procope  died  a  violent  death.  Here  also  is  a  small  sepulchral  bust  of  a 
woman  bearing  an  inscription  threatening  that  whosoever  should 
profane  this  tomb  would  die  the  last  of  his  race — that  is,  that  he  would 
see  all  whom  he  loved  die  before  he  did:  qvisqvis  hoc  svstvlerit  avt 

JVSSERIT  VLTIMVS  SVORVM  MORIATVR. 


384  THE  VATICAN 

On  Wall  8,  to  the  left,  is  a  fragment  of  a  list  containing  the  names  of 
the  Kalatores  pontificum  el  jJaminiim  (Ushers  of  the  Pontifical  Col- 
lege). This  important  inscription  was  found  during  the  old  excava- 
tions of  the  Roman  Forum  near  the  house  known  as  the  Regia,  which 
was  the  residence  of  the  Pontifical  College.  Here  may  be  also  seen  one 
of  the  cippi  which  marked  off  the  zone  that  was  to  remain  free  near  the 
banks  of  the  Tiber.  The  inscription  tells  us  it  was  set  up  during  the 
consulship  of  Censorinus  and  Gallus  in  the  year  8  B.C.  Another  inscrip- 
tion refers  to  a  freedman  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian  who  is  called  Archi- 
magyrus  (or  chief  cook),  and  also  mentions  a  cooks'  club  which  met  in 
the  imperial  palace  {collegium  coconim  quod  consistit  in  palatio). 

Wall  9  contains,  on  the  right,  an  inscription  from  the  sepulchral 


monument  of 
tron  Claudia 
the  Appian  Way 
of  St.  Sebastian, 
describes  the 
that  most  noble 
we  are  told  that 
to  be  properly 
be  represented 
the  likeness  of 
{in  forma  om- 
On  Wall  10, 
the  left,  we  see 
able  inscription 
cius  Ralerius, 
formula    which 


\    Pi'otcst   :if;;iinst  her 
Early  Death 


the  Roman  ma- 
Semne,  found  on 
near  the  Basilica 
The  inscription 
various  parts  of 
monument,  and 
her  perfections, 
treated,  should 
by  statues  after 
various  deities 
nium  Deorum). 
which  lies  on 
a  truly  remark- 
relating  to  Lu- 
and  ending  in  a 
mavbeChristian, 


since  the  reader  is  warned  that  God  will  be  witness  if  he  has  not  prayed : 

TV  QVI  LEGES  ET  NON  ORA VERTS  ERIT  TIBI  DEVS  TESTIMONIO.     The  meaning  of 

this  phrase  is  hard  to  explain  in  a  pagan  sense,  but  if  may  be  that  the 
inscription  belonged  to  some  one  who,  while  not  a  Christian,  professed 
doctrines  analogous  to  the  teachings  of  Christianity. 

On  Wall  12,  to  the  left,  is  a  large  pedestal  with  an  honorary  inscrip- 
tion dedicated  to  Emperor  Constantius,  son  of  Constantine,  by  Mem- 
mius  Vitrasius  Orfitus,  Prefect  of  Rome.  This  pedestal  once  held  the 
statue  of  Constantius  and  stood  in  the  Roman  Forum. 

On  Wall  14,  to  the  left,  begins  the  series  of  Christian  inscriptions, 
found  for  the  most  part  in  the  Roman  Catacombs,  and  nearly  all  dating 
from  the  third,  or  especially  from  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries. 
While  this  series  would  be  of  immense  importance  in  any  other  city,  it 
is  rather  overshadowed  in  Rome  by  the  unrivalled  collection  of  Chris- 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS 


385 


NOAVINA'tEC 

11A\C    MDIVI  IIIiycnH 
mclk  IIII-E/IV  XVIEAV 
(V5ClF.VI[-CL^Aa)VI'Hm 

ilVir    MlLCfMWAVC 
TOIVI   MlTVLMVIl'CEAV 

MM  xV'Apo  mkiii 


toHi 


tian  inscriptions  in  the  Lateran 
Christian  Museum  and  by  the 
wealth  of  important  inscriptions 
that  are  to  be  found  in  the  Cata- 
combs themselves.  Nevertheless, 
this  collection  is  of  high  impor- 
tance, not  alone  in  itself  but  also 
in  view  of  the  ease  with  which 
one  may  here  compare  the  Chris- 
tian and  pagan  epigraphy.  P'or  in- 
stance, we  may  notice  that  the 
Christian  inscriptions,  which  are 
generally  of  a  later  date,  are  also 
more  careless  both  in  expression 
and  in  palaeography.  Moreover,  it 
will  be  noticed  that  set  formulse 
were  used  in  the  Christian  inscrip- 
tions: for  example,  in  pace  and 
depositiis  (an  obvious  reference 
to  the  resurrection),  expressions 
never  found  in  pagan  inscriptions. 
Then,  too,  the  early  emblems  of 
the  Christians  are  scratched  on 
their  sepulchral  monuments:  the  anchor,  the  dove,  the  fish,  and  more 
often  the  combination  of  the  first  two  letters  of  the  Greek  name  of 
Christ  (Xpiax6?).  This  last  symbol  is  generally  known  as  the  Constan- 
tine  monogram  (  >^  ),  because  it  was  used  particularly  in  the  days  of 
Constantine,  and  came  into  common  use  afterwards.  This  series  of 
Christian  inscriptions  is  continued  along  all  the  walls  on  the  left  of  the 
gallery,  until  we  come  to  the  screen  which  separates  this  gallery  from 
the  Chlaramonti  Museum.    We  return  now  to  the  pagan  inscriptions. 

On  Wall  15,  to  the  right,  is  an  altar  (No.  63)  dedicated  to  the  Sun — 
Soli  Inuicio — that  is,  to  the  Sun  as  conceived  in  the  Persian  religion. 
The  altar  was  dedicated  by  a  college  or  society  which  practised  a  special 
cult  of  the  Sun  under  this  title;  and  in  the  inscription  the  name  of 
Marcus  Aurelius  Cripanto,  the  president  (magister)  of  the  association, 
is  mentioned. 

On  Wall  17,  to  the  right,  is  a  large  pedestal  (No.  73)  which  at  differ- 
ent times  served  two  distinct  purposes.  It  supported  originally  a 
statue  of  Gallus,  as  we  learn  from  a  relief  carved  on  the  right  side;  later 
it  was  the  base  for  an  honorary  statue  of  Furteius  Tertullus,  a  consular 
dignitary  of  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  as  we  may  learn 


Fragment  of  Column  giving  the  Names  and 
Numbers  of  Ruman  Legions 


386  THE  VATICAN 

from  the  later  inscription  carved  on  the  front  of  the  marble  block.  On 
this  wall  there  is  also  a  fine  sepulchral  inscription  in  cursive  script, 
which  tells  us  of  two  children  named  Pupus  Torquatianus  and  Pupus 
Lfetianus.  The  slab  was  erected  by  their  parents,  Cajanus  and  Eucha- 
ris,  who  sing  their  children's  praises,  and  declare  that  they  will  grow 
old  before  their  time  because  of  the  death  of  their  dear  children. 

On  Wall  21,  to  the  right,  is  No.  91.  Over  a  miniature  temple  is  set  the 
top  of  another  temple  of  an  apparently  different  size.  From  the  in- 
scription carved  on  the  top  we  learn  that  the  monument  was  dedicated 
to  the  protecting  genius  of  a  Praetorian  century  in  the  time  of  the  Em- 
peror Commodus,  or,  more  precisely,  in  the  year  181  a.d. 

In  this  same  wall  there  is  another  noteworthy  inscription,  namely, 

US  * 

% 


■■    fife  J 


I  ffiSr]  life  ^ -^^^ 


m^':  ..  fA^\  i-rrTv  |r.|  ^Avi^^*]  r^. 


COS       ■    y  coi>jrLiv  i 


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5     C'fMO     M         MitQ 


iSi'l^'ifTSi^fi- Will-IP 

'■-■  ■   V  7         "•    roil N us    ,-.-?,-   ,        If  .  ..,- 


mzl  k 


Inscriptidii  giviiifi  llir  Names  and  Birthplaces  of  Soldiers  and  the 
Corps  to  which  they  belonged 

that  of  Claudius  Narcissianus,  wherein  we  are  told  that  the  sepulchral 
monument  was  surrounded  by  a  wall,  and  contained  a  garden,  a  stable 
and  other  outhouses. 

No.  93  is  seen  on  the  left;  this  is  an  unusual  sepulchral  group  repre- 
senting a  bearded  man  seated  on  a  high  chair  between  two  figures,  a 
boy  portrayed  as  Harpocrates  and  a  girl  carrying  flowers  in  the  folds 
of  her  mantle.  The  inscription  gives  us  the  name  of  the  individual  as 
Cornutus,  and  tells  us  that  he  was  buried  there  together  with  his  eight 
children.  Very  probably  the  figures  of  the  boy  and  girl  represent  two 
of  his  children. 

On  Wall  25,  to  the  right,  are  arranged  many  inscriptions  concerning 
offices  in  the  imperial  household  or  referring  to  various  workmen.  For 
instance,  there  is  an  inscription  dealing  with  a  hairdresser  (ornatrix) 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS  387 

and  a  nurse,  and  another  telling  of  an  imperial  servant  employed  in  the 
Servilian  Gardens,  which  lay  between  the  Via  Appia  and  the  Via 
Ostiensis.  Another  inscription  refers  to  a  private  road  which  ran  from 
the  highway  through  a  garden  and  belonged  to  a  sepulchre  (iter  pri- 
vatum a  via  piiblica  per  horlum  perlinens  ad  monumentum  sive  se- 
piilcliriiin).  Still  another  inscription,  dedicated  to  a  goldsmith  named 
Ilarus,  is  of  some  importance  since  it  shows  that  there  was  a  college  or 
association  that  met  in  the  house  of  a  noble  lady  named  Sergia  Paulina 
(collegium  quod  esl  in  domo  Sergia'  Paulina'). 

On  Wall  26,  to  the  left,  is  the  sepulchral  cippus  of  Gavins  Musicus 
and  his  wife,  Volumnia  .lanuaria,  who  lived  at  the  end  of  the  iirst  cen- 
tur3^  This  noteworthy  slab  has  characteristic  figures  of  these  two  per- 
sons. 

On  Wall  29,  to  the  left,  we  find  many  inscriptions  recording  military 
events,  and  concerning  soldiers  of  the  legions  and  urban  cohorts  as 
well  as  of  the  prjetorian  cohorts  and  cohorts  of  the  watch.  There  is  one 
in  particular  dealing  with  Thysdrus,  a  soldier  of  the  sixth  cohort  of  the 
watch,  on  which  is  carved  his  portrait  with  the  outfit  proper  to  his 
calling.  Important,  too,  are  tlie  fragments  of  a  column  in  cippolino 
marble,  on  which,  under  the  heading  xonfixa  leg[ioxvm],  are  inscribed 
the  names  and  numbers  of  many  Roman  legions.  Herewith  also  we 
give  an  example  of  the  many  lists  of  soldiers  (latercoli  militari),  show- 
ing their  names,  the  corps  they  belonged  to,  and  their  native  towns. 
Alongside  is  a  brick  inscription,  containing  the  name  of  a  Roman  legion 
that  was  stationed  near  the  Danube  in  ancient  Moesia  (now  Bulgaria), 
where  this  brick  was  recently  found. 

On  Wall  30,  to  the  left,  is  a  travertine  altar  (No.  132),  with  an  inscrip- 
tion telling  that  it  was  dedicated  to  the  goddess  .Tuturna.  This  is  one  of 
the  verj^  rare  monuments  to  this  Goddess  of  the  Waters,  whose  sanc- 
tuary has  been  recently  discovered  in  the  Roman  Forum  near  the  foot 
of  the  Palatine. 

Wall  31  contains  on  the  right  a  large  cippus  (No.  138),  that  served  a 
double  purpose.  First  of  all,  it  has  a  second-century  inscription  dedi- 
cated by  Claudia  Qulnta  to  her  pa'dagogus,  or  tutor,  Cains  Julius  Hy- 
metus,  wdio  was  also  custodian  of  the  Temple  of  Diana  Planciana. 
Later  the  cippus  was  used  to  support  the  honorary  statue  of  Lucius 
Tnrcius  Secundus,  a  famous  personage  of  the  fourth  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  and  the  list  of  his  honors  (cursus  honorum)  is  given  in 
an  inscription  thereon.  On  the  plinth  his  surname,  Asterius,  has  been 
added  as  an  afterthought.  There  are  also  on  this  wall  several 
sepulchral  pillars  containing  inscriptions  dealing  with  the  equites  sin- 
gulares,  that  is,  with  the  knights  who  made  up  the  horse-guard  of  the 


THE  VATICAN 


X'K 


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TFL-IVLIOSESQEQSING 
AVGTVRVLPllTXaCINA 
NOBJCVS-V^A-XX)(MIL-A' 
XJ1ITMIELIVSVICT0R1N\ 
VIXILARIVS-H-ETTFLFLOREK 
TlNVS-MILCoH-XIVRBANAESEC 
H-  AMICO  *  OPTIMO • 
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388 

Roman  emperors,  and 
who  were  chosen  from 
the  various  countries  in 
the  empire.  They  gener- 
ally give  a  portrait  of  the 
knight  reclining  on  a  ban- 
quet couch,  and  below 
one  sees  his  orderly  hold- 
ing one  or  two  horses  by 
the  reins.  These  inscrip- 
tions are  valuable  since 
they  show  the  native  coun- 
tries of  these  knights, 
most  of  whom  came  from 
the  northern  provinces  of 
the  empire.  A  stele  which 
we  have  here  reproduced 
belongs  to  one  Titus  Fla- 
vins Julius,  a  native  of 
Noricum,  who  served  as  a 
soldier  for  thirteen  years, 
and  was  thirty  years  old 
at  his  death.  The  monu- 
ment was  erected  by  his 
heirs,  Titus  Aurelius  Vic- 
torinus,  a  standard-bear- 
er   and  Titus  Flavins  Flo-  Stelc  of  Titus  Flavius  Julius  {Eqiics  Sinijiilaris) 

rentinus,  a  soldier  of  the  eleventh  urban  cohort,  "to  their  best  friend." 
To  the  left,  on  Wall  32,  is  a  votive  pedestal  (No.  142),  dedicated  to 
Hercules  Victor  by  Cains  Julius  Rufus,  military  tribune,  curator  of  the 
Temple  of  Hercules  and  attached  to  the  Treasury  of  Saturn.  The 
abbreviations  to  be  seen  on  the  upper  part  of  the  pedestal,  H.  V.  V.  S., 
must  be  interpreted  Herculi  Victori  votiim  solvit. 

On  Wall  33,  to  the  right,  is  a  sacred  well-top  (No.  144),  dedicated  in 
197  A.D.  to  Ceres  and  to  the  Nymphs  by  two  patrons  of  an  association  in 
Ostia,  from  which  city  this  monument  comes.  No.  147  is  the  sepulchral 
cippus  of  a  cutler  named  Lucius  Cornelius  Atimetus,  and  is  noteworthy 
on  account  of  the  scenes  carved  on  the  two  sides.  To  the  left  of  the  on- 
looker is  represented  the  workroom  of  Atimetus,  wdiose  assistants  are 
intent  on  their  work;  to  the  right  is  seen  the  shop  in  which  Atimetus  is 
showing  his  goods  to  a  customer.  In  this  same  wall  are  set  several  in- 
scriptions which  were  found  during  the  excavations  carried  out  by 


I 


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vmM. 


IV 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS  389 

Pius  VII  in  the  old  city  of  Ostia.  Remarkable  among  them  are  an  in- 
scription in  honor  of  the  Emperor  Vespasian  and  a  list  giving  the 
names  of  the  members  of  a  college  who  had  contributed  to  a  certain 
work.  Another  inscription  refers  to  an  association  of  wood-workers 
ifabri  lignarii).  Of  importance,  also,  arc  some  inscriptions  dealing 
with  the  Mithraic  cult,  accompanied  by  effigies  of  the  god  Mithra  Tau- 
roctonus  (Bull-slayer).  There  is,  moreover,  a  noteworthy  inscription 
which  was  set  up  by  the  priests  of  Cybele  (dendrofori)  at  Ostia. 

On  Wall  34,  to  the  left,  is  a  marble  stele  (No.  152)  with  an  inscription 
to  Zeus  Optimus  Maximus  Heliopolitanus,  calling  on  him  to  protect 
the  Emperor  Gordian.  This  was  erected  by  a  citizen  of  Heliopolis  who 
had  once  been  a  centurion  in  the  Third  Legion,  known  as  the  Flavia 
Gordiana. 

Wall  35  contains,  on  the  right,  a  remarkable  monument  relating  to 
the  triumphal  column  erected  in  honor  of  Marcus  Aurelius  near  the 
Via  Flaminia  (on  the  modern  Piazza  Colonna).  The  fragment.  No. 
153,  contains  part  of  a  petition  addressed  by  Adrastus,  an  imperial 
freedman,  to  the  Emperor  Scplimius  Severus  for  permission  to  build 
himself  a  house  near  the  said  column,  of  which  he  was  custodian.  On 
the  long  stele.  No.  154,  three  letters  have  been  transcribed.  Two  are 
from  the  procurator  of  the  imperial  patrimony  of  Septimius  Severus: 
the  first  is  addressed  to  Epaphroditus,  asking  him  to  give  Adrastus,  the 
imperial  freedman  and  custodian  of  the  column  of  the  divine  Aurelius, 
materials  for  the  ])uil(iing  of  a  house  near  by;  the  other  is  addressed  to 
Adrastus,  and  authorizes  him  to  use  the  materials  for  the  construction 
of  a  house  destined  for  a  habitation  and  the  better  custody  of  the  col- 
umn. The  third  letter  is  from  the  administrators  of  the  imperial  pat- 
rimony, granting  Adrastus  a  plot  of  ground  for  his  house  near  the  col- 
umn. There  are  also  on  this  wall  a  few  inscriptions  relating  to  ancient 
municipalities  outside  Rome.  Among  these  is  a  cippus  with  an  inscrip- 
tion relating  to  Valerius  Frumentius,  patron  and  defender  of  the  town 
of  Laurentum;  another  iuscription  records  the  building  of  a  flight  of 
steps  in  Laurentum,  and  a  third  gives  the  names  of  the  soldiers  who,  in 
the  year  168  A.n.,  erected  a  building  with  a  tribunal  there,  probably 
something  along  the  lines  of  a  basilica. 

Wall  37  contains  inscriptions  dealing  with  various  magistrates  and 
civic  dignitaries.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned:  a  terminus,  or  land- 
mark, from  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  set  up  by  the  consuls  Censorinus  and 
Gallus  in  the  days  of  Augustus;  an  inscription  recording  a  legacy  left 
to  the  College  of  the  Augustales  of  Laurentum  and  Ostia  by  one  Rusti- 
celius  so  that  the  college  might  erect  him  a  statue  and  celebrate  his 
birthday  every  year;  a  fragment  of  the  records  of  the  Liidi  sceculares, 


THE  VATICAN 


ANIClGAYCfMO^ 
BASSOVC^PROCONS 


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OKDOrOTYIVSQyEClVlTA 
TI>srRAENE  STIHAEFOEffiS 


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390 

which  were  cele- 
brated  in   Rome   in  |        j^   ^  TT//^T/^  7l\  F^  TilK  fl/^.  Vi"  >'' 

the  days  of  Angns- 
tus,  and  at  which  the 
famous  "Carmen  Sae- 
c  id  a  re"  of  Horace 
was  sung. 

There  are  also  a 
number  of  small  in- 
scriptions bearing 
the  names  of  per- 
sonages of  various 
times  and  once 
placed  underneath 
their  statues.  One 
of  these  statues,  we 
learn,  was  dedicated 
to  Titus  Cornasidius 
Sabinus  and  his  son 
by  the  College  of 
Dendrofori  at  La- 
vinium.  Another 
was  dedicated  to  Marcus  Cesonius  Saturninus  and  his  brother  Clavius 
Martinus,  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century  a.d.  and  were  patrons  in  Ocri- 
coli,  for  their  munificence  to  that  municipality  and  also  for  having 
restored  the  .Juvernal  Baths  to  the  soutli  of  the  city.  An  important  and 
fairly  old  inscription,  dating  from  the  seventh  century  a.u.c,  has  been 
recently  set  up  here.  It  records  the  building  of  the  walls  around  Ecla- 
num,  near  Beneventum,  by  the  quadrumvirate  of  that  city  and  by  C. 
Quintius  Valgus,  patron  of  the  municipality.  The  gates  and  towers  of 
the  town  are  there  mentioned.  On  this  same  wall  there  is  a  curious 
honorary  tablet  set  up  by  the  city  of  Prpeneste  to  the  most  noble  Anicius 
Auchenius  Bassus,  Proconsul  of  Campania,  who  is  styled  the  restitiilor 
generis  Anieioriim. 

On  Wall  38,  to  the  left,  is  a  cippus  (No.  163)  bearing  in  bas-relief 
the  effigy  of  a  centurion  of  a  Roman  legion  in  the  time  of  Septimius 
Severus. 

Wall  39  contains  a  large  marble  pedestal  (No.  165)  which  once  sup- 
ported the  statue  of  Postumius  .Tulianus,  a  noble  citizen  of  ancient 
Prscncste  who  lived  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  The  inscription 
was  set  up  in  the  year  3<S5  of  the  Christian  era  in  the  forum  of  Prjeneste, 
in  accordance  with  a  will  which  left  several  farms  to  the  town  on  con- 


Tabk't  iM-ected  in  Honor  of  Anicius  Auchenius  Bassus 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS  391 

clition  that  his  statue  be  set  up  in  the  forum  and  an  anniversary  cele- 
brated each  year  in  his  memory. 

There  are  a  few  inscriptions  from  imperial  days  on  these  walls.  One 
tells  how  Trajan  restored  certain  buildings  in  his  sixth  consulate;  an- 
other relates  that  some  works  were  done  by  the  Emperor  Antoninus 
Pius.  The  pedestal  which  supported  the  statue  of  Aurelian  was  voted 
him,  we  are  told,  by  the  citizens  of  Castronovum.  Lastly,  there  is  an 
inscription  erected  in  honor  of  the  Emperor  Constantius  by  Memmius 
Vitrasius  Oi'titus. 

On  Wall  40,  to  the  left,  we  see  a  large  cippus  (No.  170  B)  with  an 
inscription  which  gives  the  names  of  Cornelius  Atimetus  and  refers  to 
a  farm  belonging  to  the  Gens  Bruttia  in  Sabinum,  known  as  the  Villa 
Bruttiana. 

On  Wall  41,  to  the  right,  is  a  cippus  (No.  173)  from  the  city  walls, 
telling  that  the  ponKvriiiin.  or  city  boundary,  was  extended  in  the  lime 
of  Emperor  Claudius.    It  has  the  usual  formula:  avctis  popvli  romani 

FIXIBVS   POMERIVM    AMPLIAVrf  TERMIXAVITQVK. 

On  this  wall  there  are  several  imperial  inscriptions.  The  carved  let- 
tering of  one  large  inscription  bears  traces  of  having  been  tilled  with 
bronze.  Only  the  central  portion  remains,  but  the  whole  can  easily  be 
reconstructed:  it  was  dedicated  to  the  divine  Trajan  and  his  spouse 
Plotina,  and  stood  on  the  Temple  of  Trajan  built  at  the  end  of  his 
splendid  forum.  Here  also  are  two  other  cippi  from  the  pouKtrium 
of  Claudius,  like  that  already  referred  to  (No.  173),  and  dating  from 
the  year  43  of  the  Christian  era.  There  is  also  an  inscription  dedicated 
to  Caracalla  by  the  Association  of  Divers  (sfricafores). 

No.  173  B  is  a  slab  dating  from  the  time  of  Antoninus  Pius;  it  was 
dedicated  to  Fortuna  Primigenia  by  Lucius  Sariolenus,  a  citizen  of 
Prpeneste.  The  inscription  says  that  Sariolenus  adorned  wath  statues 
the  temple  of  that  divinity  and  another  building  known  as  the  Juno- 
narium.  The  inscrijition  is  very  noteworthy  in  view  of  the  informa- 
tion it  gives  concerning  the  topography  of  ancient  Proeneste,  and  also 
because  it  mentions  the  goddess  Isityches  (Isis-Fortuna). 

Some  other  inscriptions  from  imperial  times  follow  on  Wall  43:  for 
instance,  the  monumental  inscription  in  which  are  recorded  the  works 
done  by  Antoninus  Pius  in  the  Ostian  Baths,  which  had  been  begun  by 
the  Emperor  Hadrian;  the  inscription  dedicated  to  Diocletian  and 
Maximian  by  Acilius  Balbus,  curator  of  the  Tiber  banks  and  the  Roman 
cloacae  (sewers);  an  important  municipal  inscription  from  which  we 
learn  that  in  the  third  consulship  of  Emperor  Hadrian  (119  a.d.)  a  new 
street  was  run  through  the  forum  as  far  as  the  capitol  of  the  town, 
which  was  built  in  imitation  of  the  Capitol  in  Rome;  an  inscription  on 


392  THE  VATICAN 

a  large  pedestal  bearing  witness  to  some  monumental  work  done  by 
Nerva;  a  cippus  from  the  Aqua  Vergine  aqueduct,  erected  in  the  fifth 
consulship  of  Emperor  Tiberius  (31  a.d.). 

On  Wall  45  are  many  inscriptions  relating  to  the  gods  and  their  min- 
isters. The  principal  are  as  follows:  (1)  an  inscription  of  Scurreius 
Fontinalis,  a  priest  of  Fortuna  Primigenia;  (2)  a  cippus,  beginning 
with  the  words  Locus  sacer  and  relating  to  the  College  of  Silvanus  and 
its  buildings  on  the  Via  Appia  between  the  second  and  third  milestones 
from  Rome,  on  the  plot  of  one  Julia  Monime  in  the  Ager  Curtianus 
Talarchianus  {i.e.,  near  the  Catacomb  of  St.  Calixtus).  The  inscription 
contains  notices  concerning  right  of  way  and  the  custom  of  funeral 
banquets;  (3)  a  fragment  of  a  calendar,  remarkable  because  it  points 
out  the  festivals  kept  in  honor  of  Aunia  Regilla,  sister  of  Queen  Dido, 
at  the  tirst  milestone  on  the  Via  Flaminia. 

High  up  near  the  window  is  a  broken  architrave  found  at  Ostia,  bear- 
ing an  inscription  of  Acilius  ^grilius  Plavianus,  prefect  of  the  military 
treasury,  pontifex  of  Vulcan,  and  religious  head  of  the  colony  at  Ostia, 
who  dedicated  to  Vulcan  a  statue  of  gold  and  a  silver  shield.  On  the 
lower  part  of  this  wall  was  recently  placed  an  important  inscription 
from  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era,  containing  the  lex,  or 
rules  and  statutes,  of  the  Association  of  .Esculapius  and  Hygeia.  We 
are  told  that  a  lady  named  Salvia  Marcellina,  in  memory  of  her  hus- 
band. Flavins  Apollonius,  had  given  this  association  a  meeting-place 
near  the  Temple  of  Mars  on  the  Appian  Way  between  the  first  and  sec- 
ond milestones.  Added  to  this  inscription  is  a  list  of  the  festivals  kept 
by  the  association.  This  inscription  was  a  gift  from  Prince  Louis  Bar- 
berini,  in  whose  palace  it  had  been  preserved. 

Wall  47  contains  many  inscriptions  concerning  divinities  and  sacred 
ministers.  The  principal  are:  (1)  a  cippus  dedicated  to  Mars  Gradi- 
vus,  with  an  inscription  sacred  to  the  Sabine  god  Semo  Sancus,  found 
on  the  Island  of  the  Tiber.  It  is  thought  by  many  critics  that  the  Chris- 
tian apologist  Justin  was  misled  by  this  inscription  into  thinking  that 
there  had  been  a  statue  to  Simon  Magus  on  the  Island  of  the  Tiber;  (2) 
a  few  fragments  of  the  records  (fasti)  of  the  priestly  college  of  the  Salii 
Palatini,  giving  the  names  of  the  newly  elected  and  those  whose  places 
they  filled.  These  records  date  from  the  time  of  Marcus  Aurelius;  (3) 
an  altar  dedicated  to  the  Sun,  and  another  to  Sol  Invictus  and  Luna 
Sterna;  (4)  an  important  fragment  alluding  to  the  ancient  tradition 
that  the  Vestal  virgins  were  brought  from  the  city  of  Cjere  to  Rome  in 
the  early  days  of  its  history;  (5)  an  inscription  dedicated  to  Hercules 
for  the  health  of  Emperor  Pertinax. 

On  Wall  48,  to  the  left,  are  many  Christian  inscriptions,  some  of 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS 


f  HVAlV.S6|Q\/|QVAl:TKTAMWT0SVbMEN\oW 
i  N'       (AMtNTOOy  ■-,\CVlY0CABVl\/j 

fRlT^fT^^icf7mACIV(?>vsM^f;^0HMWSI)f^W&(>Los: 

tw%ApaA!;MAMtviVQcMAnM'M"isTfvt(',cjr 


Pedestal  of  Statue  of  Postumius  Julianus 


394  THE  VATICAN 


UIIAHOPARTHICO^  Pn^ 

VI'TRAIANI'PARTHICI 

NySHADKIANVS'A\f 

COS'III'PARENfTIBU 

Fragment  of  Inscription  from  tlie  Temple  of  Trajan 

which  have  a  special  importance  on  account  of  the  fact  that  they  bear 
the  names  of  the  consuls  in  office,  and  we  can  thus  fix  their  dates  in 
every  case.  The  dates  run  from  the  fourth  to  the  sixth  century  of  our 
era,  the  earliest  being  the  year  363  and  the  latest  the  year  530.  The  best 
and  largest  collection  of  Christian  consular  inscriptions,  however,  is  in 
the  Lateran  Christian  Museum. 

AoniTiONS  TO  THE  Gallery  OF  INSCRIPTIONS. — In  1912  the  Directors  of 
the  Papal  Museums  gathered  together  three  groups  of  most  important 
ancient  inscriptions,  which  form  a  worthy  complement  to  those  col- 
lected in  the  gallery  proper.  These  groups  are  known  as:  (1)  the  In- 
scriptions of  the  Scipios;  (2)  the  Triumphal  Inscriptions;  (3)  the  In- 
scriptions of  the  Fratres  Arvalcs.  The  first  two  groups  were  placed  in 
the  small  hall  of  the  Pio-Clementino  Museum,  where  the  statue  of 
Meleager  originally  stood,  and  the  third  group  has  been  placed  in  the 
square  recess  opening  on  the  Hall  of  the  Torso  Belvedere. 

Inscriptions  of  the  Scipios. — These  most  important  inscriptions 
came  from  the  underground  tomb  of  the  famous  Scipio  family  on  the 
Via  Appia  near  St.  Sebastian's  Gate,  where  they  were  discovered  in 
1780.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  is  the  sarcophagus  of  Lucius  Cornelius 
Scipio  Barbatus,  consul  456  a.u.c.  (298  B.C.),  great-grandfather  of 
Scipio  Africanus.  The  inscription  carved  on  the  front  of  the  monu- 
ment is  in  ancient  Saturnian  verses,  praises  the  strength,  wisdom  and 
beauty  of  the  deceased,  tells  that  he  was  consul,  censor  and  aedile,  cap- 
tured Taurasia  and  Cisauna  in  Samnium,  overcame  all  Lucania,  and 
brought  back  hostages  to  Rome.  The  architectonic  decoration  on  the 
sarcophagus  consists  of  a  Doric  frieze  with  roses  and  triglyphs  and  a 
cornice  with  dentils.  This  is  of  great  importance,  as  it  shows  us  that 
Greek  art  had  already  penetrated  into  Rome  in  the  third  century  b.c. 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS  395 

The  lid  has  cushion-shaped  ornaments,  but  the  portion  to  the  left  of 
the  spectator  is  a  modern  restoration.  On  the  original  part  to  the  right 
remain  some  traces  of  the  original  inscription  in  red  letters,  which 
must  have  read  as  follows:  L.  CorneliO      CN.      F.      S  C  I  P  I  0 

In  the  wall  to  the  left  have  been  added  other  inscriptions  of  the  Scipio 
family,  found  in  the  tomb,  and  all  having  great  importance  on  account 
of  their  antiquity.  No.  2  is  the  inscription  of  Lucius  Cornelius  Scipio, 
son  of  Rarbatus,  who  was  consul  in  495  a.i'.c.  and  censor  in  496.  The 
text  tells  us  that  he  was  by  common  consent  the  best  of  the  good,  that 
he  was  consul,  censor  and  a^dile,  that  he  conquered  Corsica  and  dedi- 
cated a  temple  to  the  Winds,  which  stood  near  the  Porta  Capena  and  is 
referred  to  by  Ovid  in  the  sixth  book  of  his  "Fasti,"  where  he  writes: 

"Te  quoque,  Tempestas,  meritam  delubra  fatemur 
Cum  pfene  est  Corsis  obruta  classis  aquis." 

The  inscription  is  placed  on  the  front  of  the  sarcophagus,  while  on  the 
lid  was  painted  in  red  letters  the  name  of  the  individual  to  whom  it 
belonged. 

No.  3  is  the  inscription  of  Publius  Scipio,  son  of  P.  Cornelius  Scipio 
Africanus  Major,  the  conqueror  of  Hannibal.  This  man,  having  no 
heirs  of  his  body,  adopted  the  son  of  Lucius  ^Emilius  Paulus,  later 
known  as  Scipio  /Kmilianus  or  Africanus  Minor,  the  famous  conqueror 
of  Carthage.  The  inscription  deplores  the  brevity  of  his  life  and 
declares  that  had  he  lived  longer  his  glory  would  have  outshone  that 
of  his  ancestors.  On  the  same  wall  is  No.  5,  an  inscription  of  Lucius 
Cornelius  Scipio,  son  of  Asiaticus,  which  tells  us  that  he  was  quaestor 
(587  A.r.c.)  and  military  tribune,  that  he  lived  thirty-three  years,  and 
that  his  father,  who  was  dead  at  the  time  when  the  inscription  was  set 
up,  had  conquered  Antiochus,  King  of  Syria:  Morlnos  [inoiiuns]  pater 
regem  antioco[m']  snbegil.  This  victory  took  place  after  that  of  Consul 
Glabrio  at  Thermopylse  in  5(54  A.r.c.  No.  6  is  the  inscription  of  Scipio 
Comatus,  son  of  the  preceding,  who  died,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  in  600 
A.r.c:.;  No.  7,  the  inscription  of  Cn.  Cornelius  Scipio  Hispanicus,  son  of 
Cn.  Cornelius  Scipio,  consul  in  578  a.u.c.  We  are  told  that  the  deceased 
was  prsetor,  curule  aedile,  quaestor,  military  tribune,  legal  decemvir, 
and  sacred  decemvir.  Some  archaic  verses  are  added  praising  the  dead 
man  as  one  who  emulated  the  glory  of  his  sires  and  the  nobility  of  his 
lineage.  No.  8  is  a  panegyric  of  Lucius  Cornelius  Scipio,  son  of  the 
preceding,  which  tells  us  that  the  defunct,  though  still  a  young  man, 
had  attained  to  great  wisdom  and  knowledge  and  lived  little  over 
twenty  years.  On  the  wall  at  the  back  of  the  sarcophagus  of  Rarbatus 
there  is  a  broken  travertine  architrave  with  an  inscription  of  one  Paula 


396  THE  VATICAN 


imp.  Cues.  M.  Antonio  Gordiano  pio  felice  Aug. 
el   Mania    Acilio    Aviola  cos.        (a.  239) 

III.  non       1  A  N  * 

FratreB    Arvales   in    CapiloHo  oNTE  CELLAM  IVNONIS  REGINAE  CONVEN<-r«.,?  ad  vota  annua 
.olv.-nda  et  vota  rf«.«NALIA  NVNCVPANDA  PRO  SALVTE  IMP  CAES  •  M  •  A«to«»  Gordiaui  Pi, 

Felicis       4«g        P^NTIF  ■  MAX  ■  TRIB  •  POT  ■  II  ■  COS  ■  P  •  P  ■  TOTIQ  ■  DOMVI  •  mvinae  eorum 

promaeister  .  .wMIN  •  M  ANTONI  GORDIANI  ■  AVG  •  MAG  ■  PRIMI  ■  collegii  fralyum  arvaimm 

hoc     die     immolavit    I  •  O  •  M  •  B  •  M  ■  A  ■  IVNONI  REG  •  B  •  F  ■  A  •  MINERVAf  Hovcm)  /(cmnam)  aiuratam) 
xAfnerunt  ET  •  IMP  ■  CAES  ■  M  •  ANTONIVS  •  GORDI ANVS  •  PIVS  •  FE/<x  Ausustiis  mag^ster     . 

Cacsonins  Z.»CILLVS  T  •  FL  •  ARCHESILAVS  M  SAENIVS  DONA/.,s  .  .  . 

VS  ■  C  •  ANNIVS  •  PERCENNIANVS  •  SOLITO  ■  MOR*  ?  .  .  . 

.in  crebras  VOCES  ADCLAMAVERVNT 


''sdem     coHsulibus    idn  ^  '    \  J\  ]\1    *  \ 


Fralre'^         irvnUs        in        aede        Co  »!  c  o  rDlAE  CONVENERVNT  AD  INDI 
ccndum  sacrificium  Dcae  DIAE  IN  XVI  •  XIIII  ■  XIII  •  K  •  IVN 

adf.io-nnl   Imp     Caes.    M.    Antonins  Gordianus  pius   FELIX- AVG- MAG  COLL  FRATR 

yt_iy„li,„„  P.  Aelius  CoERANVS  T  -  CAESONIVS  LV 

„;,„5  L.  Fabius  FoRTVNATVS  VICTORINVS 

in  creBRAS  VOCES  -  ADCLAMAV 


pro    magtsler    luYe    el    vino    sacrifictum    Deac    Diac    cojiCEPIT  PRIMO  MANE 


Arvalian  Fragment,  with  Restorations  (239  a.d.) 

Cornelia,  wife  of  Cn.  Cornelius  Scipio  Hispallus,  who  died  when  he 
was  consul  in  the  year  578  a.u.c. 

Triumphal  Inscriptions  (on  the  wall  to  the  right  as  you  enter).— 
These  most  important  inscriptions  were  discovered  in  Rome  in  the 
days  of  Urban  VIII  (1623-1644)  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Roman 
Forum.  They  were,  therefore,  taken  at  first  to  the  Barberini  Palace, 
and  thence  derived  the  name  "Barberini  Tables."  They  remained  in 
that  palace  until  1910,  when  they  were  acquired  by  the  Vatican  Mu- 
seum. They  are  included  in  the  famous  collection  of  "Corpus  Inscrip- 
tionum  Latinarum"  (Vol.  I,  pp.  477  sq.).  The  triumphs  recorded  in  this 
group  of  inscriptions  all  belong  to  the  eighth  century  of  Rome;  that  is, 
to  the  last  years  of  the  Roman  Republic.  The  tirst  dates  from  711  a.u.c, 
the  year  following  the  death  of  Julius  Ca?sar,  and  the  last  has  the  date 
of  733  A.u.c,  or  the  twenty-first  year  before  the  Christian  era.  Of  note 
in  these  inscriptions  are  the  phrases  "Triumphavit,"  "palmam  dedit," 
which  have  reference  to  the  ceremonies  of  a  Roman  triumph.  These 
precious  inscriptions  were  placed  on  the  wall  in  the  order  they  must 
have  had  originally,  and  as  they  appear  in  the  "Corpus  Inscriptionum." 
They  all  relate  to  triumphs  won  by  generals  of  the  republic  in  Spain, 
Africa,  Illyria,  the  Alps,  Macedonia  and  Sicily. 

High  up  on  the  wall  is  placed  the  most  famous  inscription,  dedicated 
to  Jupiter  Victor  by  Lucius  Mummius,  consul  in  609  a.u.c  It  tells  how, 
having  destroyed  Corinth  and  conquered  Greece,  which  became  the 


THE  GALLERY  OF  INSCRIPTIONS  397 

Roman  province  of  Achaia  (608  a.u.c;  146  B.C.),  he  returned  to  Rome 
in  triumph  and  dedicated  a  temple  and  a  statue  to  Jupiter  Victor  in  ful- 
fdment  of  a  vow  made  during  the  war.  This  celebrated  monument 
was  found  in  1786  within  the  wall  near  the  hospital  of  St.  John 
Lateran. 

Inscriptions  of  the  Fratres  Arvales. — The  Fratres  Arvales  were  a 
priestly  college  of  very  ancient  origin  and  great  importance,  charged 
with  the  solemn  sacrifices  in  honor  of  Dea  Dia  for  the  fertility  of  the 
fields  (arva),  whence  came  their  name  Arvales.  They  met  in  a  sacred 
wood  at  the  sixth  milestone  on  the  ^'ia  Portuensis,  and  it  was  their  cus- 
tom to  carve  on  marble  the  accounts  of  their  meetings,  describing  in 
detail  their  ceremonies.  These  marble  tablets  were  set  up  near  the 
Temjile  of  Dea  Dia  in  the  above-mentioned  wood,  and  there  many 
fragments  of  them  have  been  found.  The  most  important  collection  of 
these  records  is  that  in  the  National  Museum  delle  Terme  in  Rome,  but 
the  Vatican  collection  is  older,  and  extends  from  the  time  of  Nero  to 
that  of  Gordian. 

The  most  noteworthy  among  the  inscriptions  in  this  collection  were 
kept  for  a  long  time  in  a  room  near  the  sacristy  of  St.  Peter's,  and  have 
only  recently  been  set  up  in  their  present  position.  Taking  them  suc- 
cessively as  we  go  along,  we  see:  (1)  an  inscription  from  the  time  of 
Nero,  giving  the  date  58-59  of  the  Christian  era;  (2)  fragments  from 
the  time  of  Nero,  belonging  to  the  years  59-60  of  the  Christian  era;  (3) 
an  inscription  dating  from  Domitian's  reign  and  bearing  date  of  the 
year  91  of  our  era.  It  records  the  sacrifice  announced  by  the  Fratres 
Arvales  in  the  pronaos  of  the  Temple  of  Concord;  (4)  fragments  be- 
longing to  the  period  of  Antoninus  Pius,  with  the  date  145  of  our  era; 
(5)  an  Arvalian  inscription  from  the  time  of  Elagabalus  (218  a.d.). 
This  last  inscription  is  most  important  as  it  has  preserved  for  us  the 
ancient  Arvalian  hymn,  or  poem,  composed  in  the  primitive  and  rough 
language  of  Latium,  which  was  recited  by  the  Fratres  Arvales  in  some 
of  their  ceremonies.  A  few  lines  or  sentences  of  this  curious  text  may 
be  of  interest: 

"Enos  Eases  juvate  [thrice  repeated] 
Neve  luerve  marma 
sini  incurrere  in  pleores  [thrice  repeated]." 

("Be  propitious  to  us,  0  Lares,  and  do  not  allow  the  crops  of  the 
fields  to  be  spoiled." ) 

This  Arvalian  hymn  is  one  of  the  oldest  documents  in  the  Latin  tongue, 
and  is  thus  of  great  philological  importance. 

The  remaining  inscriptions  are:  (5  A)  a  tablet  (the  back  of  the  pre- 


398  THE  VATICAN 

ceding  one,  the  slab  having  been  sawed  in  two).  The  text  dates  from 
the  (lays  of  Elagabalus;  (6)  another  inscription  from  tlie  days  of  Ela- 
gabalus  and  dating  from  the  year  221  of  our  era;  (7)  an  Arvalian  frag- 
ment from  the  time  of  Gordian  (239  a.d.).  It  was  found  in  F'ebruary, 
1911,  when  some  excavations  were  being  made  in  a  field  near  the 
sacred  wood  of  the  Fratres  Arvales  on  the  Via  Portuensis,  and  was  im- 
mediately bought  for  the  Vatican  Collection.  We  give  elsewhere  a 
facsimile  of  this  inscription  (with  restorations),  which  was  published 
at  the  time  by  the  present  writer  ("Bulletino  della  Commissione  arche- 
ologica  comunale  di  Roma,"  1911,  pp.  2-3). 

The  above  description  of  the  Vatican  Callery  of  Inscriptions,  if  very 
curtailed,  will  nevertheless  show  that  it  is  the  richest  in  the  world,  and 
that  it  deserves  not  only  a  visit,  but  the  patient  study  of  every  educated 
person  who  has  the  opportunity  and  the  time  to  examine  its  treasures. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 

pHE  Sacred  or  Christian  Museum  was  founded  in  1750 
by  order  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV,  who  desired  to  collect 
in  one  place  the  various  small  objects  connected  with 
Christian  worship  which  had  previously  been  more 
or  less  neglected,  and  were  scattered  here  and  there 
as  mere  curiosities.  To  understand  the  reason  of  this 
neglect,  we  must  remember  that  after  the  Renais- 
sance period  everything  connected  with  the  Middle 
Ages  was  commonly  considered  a  relic  of  a  barbarous  era;  thus,  in 
calling  the  ogival  style  of  architecture  "Colhic,"  the  intention  was  to 
declare  it  barbaric.  It  was  only  in  the  seventeenth  century  that  a  few 
enlightened  minds  began  to  realize  the  importance  of  these  relics  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  and  to  appreciate  the  artistic  beauty  of  the  precious 
works  of  earlier  piety  which  had  previously  l)een  so  unjustly  despised 
and  ignored.  Private  collections  of  a  more  or  less  specialized  and  re- 
stricted character  then  began  to  be  made,  and,  as  time  went  on,  men 
began  to  collect  glassware  with  gold-leaf  insertions,  inscribed  or  carved 
gems,  medallions,  seals,  ivories  in  bas-relief  and  alto-relief,  and  other 
pious  objects  of  various  materials. 

But  Pope  Benedict's  idea  was  far  more  comprehensive  when  he 
aimed  at  uniting  in  one  hall  of  the  Vatican  Library  the  various  private 
collections  that  had  any  important  bearing  on  the  history  of  the  Primi- 
tive Church.  As  a  first  step  he  bought  the  three  most  famous  collec- 
tions then  existing — that  of  Cavaliere  Filippo  Buonarroti  of  Florence; 
that  of  Cardinal  Gaspare  dei  Conti  Carpegna  of  Rome,  and  that  of 
Commendatore  Francesco  Vettori,  of  the  illustrious  Roman  patrician 
family — besides  some  minor  collections.  This  action  on  the  part  of 
the  Lambertini  Pope  is  recorded  in  an  inscription  over  the  entrance- 
door  of  the  Museum. 

Before  entering  on  a  description  of  the  priceless  treasures  here  col- 
lected, it  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  a  word  concerning  each  of  the  three 
collections  which  formed  the  main  portion  of  the  Museum  at  the  time 
of  its  institution,  and  which  form  even  to-day  an  important  part  of  the 
exhibits.  The  most  noteworthy  of  these  collections  was  that  made 
by  the  discriminating  and  industrious  Cardinal  Carpegna  (1626-1714). 
This  great  patron  of  archseological  studies,  after  filling  various  impor- 
tant ecclesiastical  offices,  was  created  Cardinal  by  Pope  Clement  X  on 

[;399:] 


400 


THE  VATICAN 


December  22,  1670,  and  appointed  Cardinal  Vicar.  In  this  capacity 
he  had  nnder  his  jurisdiction  the  Roman  Catacombs,  which  in  those 
days  were  chiefly  regarded  as  the  precious  receptacles  of  the  bodies  of 
the  early  martyrs.  But  the  Cardinal  was  anxious  likewise  to  save  from 
dispersion  whatever  other  objects  might  be  found  in  the  excavations 
that  took  place  there,  and  particularly  the  ivories.  It  was  the  custom 
of  the  early  Christians,  when  closing  the  lociilus,  or  tomb,  to  insert  in 
the  fresh  niortar  some  article  which,  in  the  absence  of  an  inscription, 


Entraiuc  to  Ihu  Christian  Museum 

would  enable  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  deceased  to  recognize 
their  last  resting-places.  His  precious  collection  was  purchased  from 
the  heirs  of  the  Cardinal,  and  was  catalogued  by  order  of  Cardinal  Pas- 
sionei.  Owing  to  various  circumstances,  however,  the  transfer  of  the 
collection  to  the  Vatican  was  delayed  until  the  time  of  Clement  XIII, 
when,  there  being  no  further  room  for  the  whole  collection  in  the  cases 
of  the  Sacred  Museum,  part  of  it  had  to  be  accommodated  at  the  other 
end  of  the  Library,  in  a  room  which,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Sacred 
Museum,  is  known  as  the  Profane  Museum. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM  401 

The  collection  of  the  Florentine  Filippo  Buonarroti,  senator  and 
member  of  the  Academy  of  the  Crusca,  constitutes  a  highly  important 
part  of  the  glasses  which,  from  the  place  of  their  discovery,  are  known 
as  cemetery  glasses.  They  are  the  bottoms  of  cups,  to  the  lower  surface 
of  which  a  leaf  of  gold  was  attached  by  means  of  an  acid,  another  layer 
of  glass  being  then  added.  When  fused,  the  two  layers  of  glass  en- 
closed the  gold  leaf,  out  of  which  certain  symbols  or  ornaments  were 
formed;  the  figures  were  left  in  the  gold  leaf,  the  remainder  of  which 


Interior  of  the  Cliristian  Museum 


was  removed  with  some  pointed  implement,  thus  leaving  a  background 
which  was  transparent  or  azure  according  to  the  texture  of  the  glass. 
The  Vettori  Collection  was  offered  to  Pope  Benedict  XIV  by  its 
owner  through  Cardinal  Giovanni  Antonio  Guadagni,  and  probably  it 
was  this  very  gift  that  suggested  to  the  Pope  the  plan  of  founding  a 
museum  by  the  purchase  of  the  above-mentioned  collections.  The 
Pope  named  Vettori  custodian  of  the  Museum  at  a  monthly  salary  of 
one  hundred  scudi.  The  Vettori  Collection  was  not  limited  to  one  class 
of  objects  like  the  two  others,  but  contained  relics  of  various  centuries 


402 


THE  VATICAN 


Frcmli   Cross  of  Silver  (lilt 
(Fourteenth  and   Fifteenth  Centuries) 


French  Cross  of  Silver  Gilt   (Hack) 
(Fourteenth  and   Fifteenth  Centuries) 


Italian  Cross  of  Bronze  Gilt 
(Fifteenth  Century) 


Crosses   of   Wood,   Metal    and   Enamel 
(Sixteenth   Century?) 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 


403 


Enamel  Triptych  from  Limoges,  with  Scenes  from  the  Passion 
(Jean  Penicaud.  Sixteenth  (Century) 


Byzantine  Triptych  with  Clirist,  the  Virgin  and  Saints 
(Circa  1000) 


404  THE  VATICAN 

and  of  different  materials,  ail,  liowever,  connected  in  one  way  or  an- 
otlier  witli  Cliristian  liistory  and  worsliip.  Later,  in  tlie  pontificate  of 
Pius  VII,  tlie  collection  made  and  owned  by  Don  Agostino  Mariotti, 
a  lawyer,  was  acquired,  and  of  this  we  still  have  the  old  and  most  accu- 
rate manuscript  catalogue  of  Abbate  Francesco  Cancellieri  (Codex 
Vaticanus  9189). 

The  Museum  was  greatly  enlarged  and  enriched  by  Pope  Gregory 
XVI,  who  devoted  special  attention  to  the  collecting  of  the  small 
painted  Greek  tablets  and  the  small  panels  painted  by  the  Primitives 
of  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  which  are  now 
in  the  New  Picture  Gallery.  While  he  was  Prefect  of  the  Library,  Mon- 
signor  Laureani  bought  many  valuable  enamels  and  objects  of  all 

greatly    increas- 


kinds,  thereby 
ing  the  inipor- 
seum.  His  work, 
disastrous  re- 
cases;  for,  not 
lecting,  he  un- 
wanted to  re- 
the  bottom  of 
to  arrange  sym- 
in  rich  golden 
entirely  unre- 
age  and  charac- 
riod  of  devel- 
with  the  reign 
ing  founded  in 
mission  of  Sa- 
for  the  purpose 


Bronze  Medallion  with  Portraits  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul 
(Tliird   Century) 


tance  of  the  Mu- 
however,  had 
suits  in  some 
satisfied  with  col- 
fortunately  also 
store  and  regild 
the  tablets,  and 
metrically  witli- 
frames  things 
lated  both  as  to 
ter.  A  new  pe- 
opment  arrived 
of  Pius  IX.  Hav- 
1852  the  Com- 
cred  Archaeology 
of    undertaking 


scientifically  planned  excavations  in  the  Catacombs,  this  Pontiff  di- 
rected that  all  objects  found  during  the  progress  of  these  works  should 
be  arranged  systematically  in  the  Museum.  In  1855  the  Hall  of  the 
Museum  was  restored,  and  Commendatore  Giovanni  Battista  de  Rossi, 
who  had  been  named  Prefect  of  the  Christian  Museum,  had  six  hori- 
zontal cases  made  to  receive  the  abundant  new  material.  His  system 
of  arranging  objects  relating  to  the  early  centuries  of  Christianity  has 
been  followed  ever  since,  and  in  1913  the  Museum  was  enriched  by 
new  additions — glasses,  lamps,  phials,  earthenware  and  bronzes.  The 
history  of  these  collections  has  been  fully  treated  by  the  present  writer 
("Gli  avori  dei  Musei  profano  e  sacro  delta  Biblioteca  Vaticana," 
Rome,  Danesi,  1903). 

Having  thus  taken  a  hurried  survey  of  the  history  of  the  Museum, 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 


405 


Polychrome  Greek  Triptych,  with  Madonna  and   Child 
and  Scenes  from  the  Life  of  the  Virgin 


406  THP:  VATICAN 

wc  shall  now  pass  quickly  over  the 
various  groups  of  archseological 
treasures  which  it  contains,  dwell- 
ing on  the  most  important,  which 
lend  the  Museum  its  great  value 
and  celebrity.  With  the  idea  of 
preserving  the  atmosphere  of  an 
old  collection,  the  directors  have 
not  tried  to  bring  the  arrangement 
of  the  Museum  into  exact  accord 
with  the  methods  followed  in  mod- 
ern museums.  De  Rossi  tried  to  at- 
tain both  ends  by  grouping  objects 
according  to  the  material  of  which 
I  hey  were  made,  or  according  to  the 
])lace  of  origin.  The  presses  are 
divided  into  twenty  compartments 
or  cases,  in  eight  groups  of  two  or 
three;  there  are,  besides,  the  six 
horizontal  glass  cases  added  by  de 
Rossi  himself  in  1855. 

To  the  left  as  you  enter  there  is  an  important  collection  of  crosses 
and  crucifixes.  In  Case  I  are  gathered  especially  bronzes  representing 
Christ  on  the  Cross;  generally  the  figure  is  robed  in  the  colohiiim  (a 
long,  sleeveless  tunic),  and  each  foot  is  nailed  separately.  Such  cruci- 
fixes antedate  the  thirteenth  century,  wdien  it  became  customary  to 
represent  the  Saviour  on  the  cross  with  an  expression  of  physical  pain. 
Previously  the  cross  had  been  merely  a  support  for  the  figure  of  the 
Crucified;  Christ  was  represented  as  triumphant  and  glorious,  all  signs 
of  sutTering  being  absent.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  case  there  is  a  bell 
of  many  chimes  hung  on  two  straps  joined  by  a  bronze  clasp,  which, 
when  held  in  the  hand  and  shaken,  causes  the  bells  to  ring  out  a  caril- 
lon. Peret  says  that  this  bell  dates  from  the  Catacombs,  and  Esperan- 
dieu  has  recently  written  in  support  of  this  view.  However,  in  view 
of  the  shape  of  the  bells  and  the  incised  cross,  this  object  is  probably 
not  earlier  than  the  eighth  century. 

Among  the  crosses  in  Case  II  may  be  mentioned  a  Greek  sepulchral 
cross  in  bronze  and  one  intended  to  be  worn  round  the  neck  (an  encol- 
pion),  on  which  is  represented  a  figure  of  the  Saviour  wearing  the 
colohiiim.  Noteworthy  also  are  a  number  of  Italian  processional 
crosses  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  of  which  shows  a  Calvary  with  small  figures  of  the  Virgin 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 


407 


U 

O 


7;  -o 


•a 


408 


THE  VATICAN 


and  St.  John,  ornamented  with  enamel  and  little  crystal  spheres.  Par- 
ticularly admirable  is  a  beautiful  cross  set  with  precious  stones;  this 
is  of  French  origin  and  dates  from  the  fourteenth  century.  The  figure 
of  the  Crucified  is  a  fifteenth-century  work,  and  was  added  later  to  the 
older  cross. 

The  horizontal  glass  case  next  to  the  case  containing  the  crosses  has 
some  of  a  series  of  eighteen  small  enamel  panels  dating  from  the  six- 
teenth century,  which  depict  the  Passion  of  the  Saviour.  But  the  most 
precious  object  in  this  collection  is  undoubtedly  an  enamel  triptych 
from  Limoges,  showing  the  Crucifixion  in  the  central  panel,  the  Scourg- 
ing on  the  left  and  the  Crowning  with  Thorns  on  the  right.  This  glori- 
ous treasure  is  by  Jean  Penicaud,who  was  born  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 


tury, and  worked 
thirty    years    of 

In  Case  III  are 
the  most  impor- 
ing  from  the 
of  Christianity: 
with  the  Con- 
gram,  two  bronze 
form  of  a  dove, 
with  graffito  fig- 
slave's  collar 
tion  "servus  Dei 
finally  several 
relief,  of  which 
doubtedly  the 
frequently      re- 

dallion  showing  '''°"""  "^""'"^y'  tj^g  heads  of  the 

Apostles  Peter  and  Paul  turned  towards  each  other.  The  last-men- 
tioned probably  dates  as  far  back  as  the  third  century,  and  was  found 
in  the  Catacomb  of  St.  Domitilla.  It  deserves  special  attention  in  view 
of  the  iconographic  characteristics  which  have  been  perpetuated  un- 
altered down  to  our  own  day. 

Case  IV  is  given  over  to  objects  in  silver  and  niello.  Only  two  spe- 
cially important  articles  will  be  mentioned:  the  first  is  a  votive  chalice 
with  an  inscription,  which  was  found  in  a  garden  near  St.  Gregory's  on 
the  Coelian  Hill  and  dates  from  about  the  eighth  century;  the  second 
is  a  beautiful  pastoral  staff  in  silver-gilt  and  niello  which  belonged  to 
Pope  John  XXII  and  was  found  in  his  tomb  at  Avignon.  This  same 
Pope's  mitre  is  in  the  Museum;  it  is  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation, 
and  is  a  most  important  specimen  of  fourteenth-century  white  damask. 


Cemetery  Glass,  representing  St.  Peter  as  Moses 
Striking  the  Hock 
(Fourth  Century) 


in  the  first 
the  sixteenth, 
to  be  found  all 
tant  bronzes  dat- 
first  centuries 
hanging  lamps 
stantine  mono- 
lamps  in  the 
a  baptismal  ewer 
ures  on  it,  a 
with  the  inscrip- 
fugitivus," 
medallions 
the  chief  is 
well-known 
produced 


and 
in 
un- 
and 
me- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 


409 


3 

u 


=  W 


a 


410 


THE  VATICAN 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM  411 

Case  V  contains  a  collection  of  chalices  dating  from  the  fourteenth 
to  the  seventeenth  century,  the  majority  being  Italian  works  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  One  of  the  latter  is  remarkable  for  the  small  ligures 
of  the  Apostles  made  of  translucent  enamel,  which  are  inserted  in  as 
many  Gothic  niches;  these  niches,  bounded  with  toothed  cusps,  form 
the  knob  of  the  chalice.  Another  very  beautiful  chalice  is  of  German 
origin,  an  unusual  feature  being  the  tigure  of  the  Redeemer  in  relief 
on  the  bottom  of  the  paten. 

The  horizontal  glass  case  which  follows  Case  V  contains  objects  of 
a  very  varied  nature  and  of  more  recent  acquisition.  The  first  object 
worthy  of  note  is  a  large  silver  plaque  which  for  a  long  time  was 
thought  to  be  the  work  of  Benvenuto  Cellini,  but  which  is  now  held, 
with  greater  reason,  to  be  by  Leone  Leoni.    It  depicts  the  apotheosis  of 


Ri'li(|uary  Capsclhe 
(Sixth  and  Eleventh  Centuries) 

Charles  Quint:  the  Emperor,  dressed  in  ancient  attire,  is  seated  on  a 
throne  holding  in  his  hands  a  globe  and  a  sword;  above  his  head  planes 
an  eagle  holding  in  its  beak  a  chain  to  which  are  attached  warriors  sym- 
bolizing the  lands  conquered  by  the  Emperor.  In  this  same  glass  case, 
among  other  relics,  is  a  silver  eucharistic  capsella,  or  reliquary,  found 
in  the  excavations  at  Carthage  and  dating  from  the  sixth  century. 
There  are  also  some  interesting  crosses  in  intagliated  wood,  metal, 
and  enamel,  wrought  by  the  monks  of  Mount  Athos  and  dating  prob- 
ably from  the  sixteenth  century;  but  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  fix  the 
date  of  the  works  of  these  monks,  whose  iconographic  style  is  so  con- 
servative and  traditional  that  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  the  output 
of  centuries  far  removed  from  one  another.  We  must  also  mention 
two  small  bells,  one  in  gold  and  the  other  in  silver,  found  in  the  tomb 
of  a  child:  it  was  customary  among  the  ancients  to  wear  these  bells  to 


412 


THE  VATICAN 


Fragment  of  Cloth  dating  from 
the  Pre-Carolingian  Epoch 


ward  off  ill-luck. 
Here  are  also  a  ring 
belonging  to  the 
Anti-Pope  Clement 
Vll,  several  episco- 
pal rings  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  vari- 
ous little  bronze 
plaques  by  Visen- 
tino  and  others,  and 
many  bronze  Chris- 
tian medals  which 
were  used  as  en- 
colpia  and  hung 
around  the  neck  by 
a  small  chain  or 
string. 

In  the  vertical  case 
that  comes  next  we 
find  many  gilt 
glasses  similar  to 
those  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  These  constitute  one  of 
the  most  precious  collections  in  the  whole  Museum,  and  whereas  all 
other  museums,  even  in  Italy,  contain  only  a  very  few  of  them,  the 
Vatican  has  more  than  one  hundred  and  lif  ty.  We  have  already  spoken 
of  their  origin  and  manufacture;  it  only  remains  to  speak  of  the  most 
characteristic  types  found  in  this  collection,  which  may  without  any 
exaggeration  be  described  as  unique.  The  bottoms  of  the  cups  very 
often  have  a  portrait  of  the  owner,  or  a  portrait  between  two  saints,  or 
simply  the  heads  of  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul.  A  few  represent  St. 
Agnes,  who  always  wears  a  veil  over  her  shoulders,  fastened  with  a 
little  brooch  set  with  six  gems  like  that  of  the  Vestals,  thus  signifying 
that  the  Saint  died  a  virgin.  Others  have  a  mystic  meaning,  as  for 
instance  that  showing  Moses  causing  w^ater  to  flow  from  a  rock  and 
inscribed  with  the  name  Petrus.  This  scene,  which  recurs  several 
times,  agrees  very  well  with  the  idea  of  the  Fathers,  who  styled  Peter 
the  Moses  of  the  New  Testament  and  likened  the  spring  of  water  to 
the  source  of  grace.  From  an  artistic  point  of  view,  the  finest  object 
in  the  collection  is  the  picture  with  the  inscription,  "Eusebi  anima 
dulcis."  It  was  found  in  the  Cemetery  of  St.  Agnes,  and  its  workman- 
ship is  so  Classical  and  accurate  that  it  cannot  be  referred  to  a  later 
date  than  the  third  century.    The  figure  is  shown  robed  in  a  chlamys 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 


413 


u  =, 


=  z 


414 


THE  VATICAN 


Tragment   of   Silk   Material 
(Seventh  Century) 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM  415 

fastened   on   the  shoulder  with   a 
round  brooch. 

The  collection  extends  through 
the  next  vertical  case  and  the  hori- 
zontal glass  case  on  the  floor,  in 
which  are  also  contained  many  fine 
fragments  of  vases  and  beautiful 
samples  of  phials  of  various  shapes, 
bearing  palm  leaves  in  relief.  In 
the  vertical  glass  case,  besides  the 
cemetery  or  gilt  glasses,  are  a  col- 
lection of  fine  fragments  of  Roman 
enamel-ware  and  a  small  collection 
of  carved  Christian  gems.  Espe- 
cially noteworthy  among  the  latter 
is  a  beautiful  golden  ring  found  in 
1912  during  the  excavations  in  the 
Cemetery  of  St.  Domitilla;  in  the 
ring  is  set  a  hard  carved  stone,  on 
the  left  of  which  is  represented  a 
dolphin  entwined  round  a  trident  (a  well-known  symbol  of  Christ  on 
the  cross),  and  on  the  right  the  Good  Shepherd  seated  among  his  sheep 
in  the  shade  of  an  olive-tree  on  which  is  perched  a  dove  holding  in  her 
beak  a  branch  of  the  same  olive-tree. 

Cases  VIII,  IX  and  X  contain  a  collection  of  enamels,  some  important 
small  reliquary  urns  from  Limoges,  two  beautiful  episcopal  rochets, 
and  a  number  of  small  Greek,  Italian  and  German  plaques;  but,  except 
for  the  triptych  by  Penicaud  and  the  Passion  scenes  above  referred  to, 
there  is  nothing  here  to  compare  with  the  exhibits  in  the  Louvre  and 
other  French  collections. 

The  fourth  horizontal  glass  case  contains  a  number  of  very  small 
objects  from  the  Catacombs,  but,  many  as  are  those  that  are  shown 
here,  a  large  number  of  others  of  recent  ac(iuisition  are  possessed  by 
the  Museum,  but  cannot  be  shown  for  lack  of  space.  These  range  from 
objects  in  ivory  and  bone  to  bronzes,  enamels,  hard  stones,  nard  boxes, 
solar  pocket  clocks,  sword-hilts,  balance  weights,  scourges,  medallions, 
bone  dolls  with  jointed  legs  and  arms,  leaden  toys,  and  so  forth.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  describe  these  objects  in  detail,  but  it  is  well  to  re- 
mind the  reader  that  all  of  them  were  found  in  the  Catacombs,  fixed 
in  the  mortar  used  to  close  the  lociili,  or  tombs. 

In  Cases  XIII  and  XIV  are  exhibited  a  few  fragments  of  Coptic  cloths 
found  in  the  tombs  of  Upper  Egypt  and  donated  to  the  Museum  by  the 


416 


THE  VATICAN 


Armor  of  Pope  Julius  II,  which  he  is  said 
to  have  worn  at  the  Capture  of  Bologna  in  1506 


Armor  of  the  Connetable  dc  Bourbon,  who 
fell  during  the  Siege  of  Rome  in  ir>2r> 


Committee  of  the  Exposition  of  Sacred  Art,  which  met  at  Turin  in  1898. 
The  finest  specimen  is  that  hanging  on  the  end  wall  of  Case  XIV;  this 
was  found  in  a  tomb  at  Akmim,  and  was  given  to  the  Museum  by  Mon- 
signor  Sogaro.  In  the  lower  part  of  these  same  cases  are  a  number  of 
silver,  bronze  and  terra-cotta  objects  found  in  the  excavation  of  the 
Xenodochium  of  Pammachius  at  Porto.  Very  beautiful  silver-rimmed 
shells  bear  on  the  inside  surface  the  cross  in  niello.  Here  also  are 
bronze  tul)es  with  palms  and  inscriptions,  magnificent  terra-cotta 
lamps  with  important  symbols,  and  a  whole  series  of  fragments  of 
glass  bowls  bearing  images  of  saints  and  Christian  symbols  put  on  by 
the  potter's  wheel.  These  are,  for  the  most  part,  works  of  the  fourth 
century  and  are  very  well  preserved.  In  one  of  these  cases  is  also  to 
be  seen  a  singularly  beautiful  reliquary  in  the  shape  of  a  bowl,  with 
a  silver  lid  with  niello  decorations;  this  was  intended  as  a  reliquary 
for  the  head  of  St.  Sebastian.  On  its  foot  is  the  dedicatory  inscription 
of  Gregory  IV,  and  on  the  inside  a  beautiful  monogram  about  whose 
meaning  there  is  still  much  discussion.  It  was  taken  from  its  case, 
where  it  had  lain  hidden  since  the  seventeenth  century  in  the  Church 
of  the  Four  Crowned  Mai'tvrs,  and  was  brought  to  the  Museum  in 
March,  1913. 

The  next  case  and  the  fifth  horizontal  glass  case  contain  the  highly 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM 


417 


-V 


Tabk'l   >>hu\ving  the  Man   IJnrii  Blind  and  CapseHa 

with  Bacchic  Scene 

(Sixth  ami  Third  Centuries) 


Upper  Surface  of  Engraved 

Silver  Reliquary  Casket 

(Ninth   Century) 


Tablet  showing  the  Madonna  and  Saints 
(Sixteenth  Century) 


418 


THE  VATICAN 


Side  View  of  Engraved  Silver  Reliquary  Casket 
(Ninth  Century) 


Byzantine  Triptycli  with  Cross,  OrnamriUs  ;iii( 
(Tenth  Century) 


Siiliits 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MUSEUM  419 

important  collection  of  ivories.  The  glass  case  also  contains  a  wooden 
comb  with  Christian  symbols,  which  is  referred  to  the  fifth  or  sixth 
century  and  was  found  in  the  bottom  of  a  well  at  Chiusi.  Most  of 
the  ivories  are  of  French  origin  and  date  from  the  fourteenth  and  fif- 
teenth centuries,  and  among  them  are  some  remarkable  triptychs.  But 
the  objects  which  particularly  deserve  our  attention  are  a  diptych  of 
Rambona,  the  cover  of  an  evangeliary  of  Lorsch,  and  a  large  Byzan- 
tine triptych  dating  from  the  eleventh  century.  The  Rambona  diptych 
is  an  eighth-century  work,  and  shows  to  the  left  a  Calvary  in  which 
the  cross  rests  on  the  she-wolf  that  fed  Romulus  and  Remus.  To  the 
right,  above,  the  Madonna  is  seated,  holding  on  her  knees  the  Infant, 
who  is  attended  by  two  seraphim;  below  three  nimbused  saints  are 
shown,  their  names  (St.  Gregory,  St.  Sylvester,  St.  Flavian)  being  given 
in  the  inscription  separating  the  two  panels.  Below  all,  in  the  centre 
of  another  inscription,  is  a  ligure  having  a  nimbus  and  bearing  a  palm 
branch.  The  cover  of  the  evangeliary,  the  codex  of  which  is  in  the 
Vatican  Library  (Cod.  Vat.  Palat.  Lat.  50),  is  from  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Nazarius  at  Lorsch.  It  is  divided  into  live  panels,  showing  the  Saviour, 
some  Angels,  and  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  For  a  long  time  it  was 
thought  that  the  ivory  was  a  sixth-century  work,  but  as  the  result  of 
recent  studies  we  cannot  refer  it  to  an  earlier  date  than  the  ninth  cen- 
tury. The  Byzantine  triptych  is  an  example  of  that  renaissance  of  art 
which  flourished  in  Byzantium  about  the  year  1000,  and  of  which  this 
relic  is  a  glorious  specimen.  It  consists  of  three  ivory  tablets  on  which 
is  carved  the  Redeemer  on  a  throne,  with  St.  Joseph  and  the  Madonna 
on  either  side.  In  three  zones,  one  above  the  other,  we  see  many  saints 
whose  names  are  written  near  them. 

The  case  following  and  the  last  horizontal  glass  case  contain  the  trea- 
sures of  the  Sancta  Sanctorum.  In  the  middle  altar  of  the  chapel  of  the 
Sancta  Sanctorum  near  the  Lateran  many  precious  relics  were  enclosed 
in  very  ancient  and  valuable  reliquaries  that  had  not  been  opened  for 
five  centuries.  In  1903,  while  seeking  for  the  head  of  St.  Agnes,  the 
Church  authorities  not  only  succeeded  in  finding  it,  but  were  led  by 
their  search  to  the  discovery  of  many  other  relics  of  inestimable  value. 
When  the  slab  that  enclosed  the  altar  was  opened  there  were  found, 
under  a  layer  of  dust,  some  small  bags  of  ancient  Sassanide  and  Caro- 
lingian  cloth,  within  which  were  preserved  many  reliquaries  of  rare 
beauty.  Lack  of  space  prevents  our  giving  a  description  of  even  the 
most  important  things  in  this  collection,  but  we  must  call  attention 
to  an  enamelled  gold  cross  of  sixth-  or  seventh-century  workmanship, 
and  a  magnificent  tenth-century  silver  reliquary  with  enamelled  medal- 
lions, in  which  the  head  of  St.  Praxedes  was  preserved.    Most  remark- 


420  THE  VATICAN 

able  too  is  the  well-preserved  state  of  the  cord  which  fastened  the  bags 
and  the  seal  of  Nicholas  III.  Other  features  of  interest  are  a  seventh- 
century  ivory  bas-relief  depicting  the  healing  of  the  man  born  blind, 
a  splendid  Greek  crux  gammala  enclosed  in  a  silver  case  decorated 
with  bas-reliefs,  and,  finally,  precious  pieces  of  cloth  which  were  used 
as  bags  to  contain  reliquaries,  and  which,  now  unfolded  and  displayed, 
constitute  the  most  beautiful  and  rare  specimens  of  cloth-weaving 
prior  to  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  For  a  more  discursive  treatment 
of  a  collection  which,  for  adequate  appreciation,  would  require  care- 
ful and  extensive  description,  the  reader  may  be  referred  to  the  works 
of  Philippe  Lauer  ("Le  tresor  du  Sancta  Sanctorum,"  Paris,  Leroux, 
1906)  and  H.  Grisar  ("II  Sancta  Sanctorum  ed  il  suo  tesoro  sacro," 
Rome,  Civilta  Cattolica,  1907),  published  since  the  discovery  of  these 
treasures.  These  works  reproduce  photographs  of  the  most  interesting 
among  the  exhibits. 

The  last  two  cases  contain  medieval  woodwork  and  the  "steatites," 
which  include  some  unusually  interesting  specimens  of  Greek  medi- 
eval art.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  cases  is  the  most  important  existing 
collection  of  Christian  earthenware  lamps,  richly  decorated  with  mono- 
grams, crosses  and  symbols  of  every  shape.  Although  this  collection 
is  not  at  present  on  exhibition,  it  is  placed  at  the  disposal  of  any  student 
desirous  of  examining  it. 

The  Christian  Museum  is  being  constantly  enriched  by  new  objects 
from  the  excavations  of  the  Catacombs  or  donated  bv  friends. 


THE  NUMISMATIC  COLLECTION 

HE  Vatican  Numismatic  Collection  began  very  mod- 
estly about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
a  few  coins  and  leaden  pontifical  seals  were  donated  to 
the  Popes  by  private  individuals  to  form  a  Cabinet  of 
Coins  in  the  Papal  Library.    So  far  as  is  known,  how- 
I  ever,  the  Vatican  did  not  possess  an  important  col- 
1  lection  of  coins  and  medals  until  the  middle  of  the 
J  eighteenth  century.    This  is  all  the  more  surprising 


as  many  cardinals  are  known  to  have  had  splendid  collections  as  early 
as  the  end  of  the  tifteenth  century.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  cite  here  that 
which  Cardinal  Barbo,  afterwards  Paul  II,  had  formed  in  his  glorious 
Palazzo  Venezia. 

About  1738  Clement  XII  took  the  first  step  towards  making  an  im- 
portant collection,  when  he  bought  the  celebrated  Roman  medallions 
belonging  to  Cardinal  Albani.  Benedict  XIV  added  to  these  the  ancient 
coins  and  medals  of  every  age  and  country  which  had  been  sedulously 
collected  by  Cardinal  Carpegna.  Later  were  acquired  the  Papal  coins 
which  belonged  to  the  famous  numismatist  Saverio  Scilla,  and  which 
had  formed  the  basis  for  his  fundamental  work  on  Papal  numismatics. 
Subsequent  Popes  acquired  minor  collections,  and  strove  in  every 
way  to  extend  the  existing  series  of  coins,  so  that,  when  Pius  VI  secured 
the  celebrated  collection  of  Queen  Christina  of  Sweden,  which  had 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Prince  Livio  Odescalchi,  the  Vatican  collection 
became  one  of  the  richest  and  most  famous  of  the  age. 

One  result  of  the  French  occupation  of  Rome  in  1798  was  the  com- 
plete dispersal  of  this  numismatic  collection,  for  such  of  the  coins  as 
were  not  stolen  or  lost  were  sent  to  France  and  incorporated  in  the 
collection  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  at  Paris.  Only  the  less  im- 
portant part  of  the  collection  was  given  back  after  the  Treaty  of  1815, 
the  unique  collection  of  Roman  coins,  as  well  as  all  the  coins  of  which 
the  French  museum  did  not  possess  duplicates,  being  retained.  Pius 
VII  immediately  set  about  the  formation  of  a  new  collection,  and  suc- 
ceeding Popes  followed  his  example  by  adding  to  it  all  coins  found 
during  the  excavations  around  Rome,  and  after  1870  by  acquiring  pri- 
vate collections  which  extended  the  series  of  special  importance  for  the 

[4213 


422  THE  VATICAN 

history  of  the  Holy  See.  Particular  mention  must  be  made  of  Cardinal 
Lorenzo  Randi's  collection  of  pontifical  coins,  upon  which  he  spent 
fifty  years,  and  which  was  bought  by  Leo  XIH.  These  accessions  ren- 
dered the  collection  one  of  the  richest  in  Italy,  and  for  some  special 
series  the  richest  in  Europe. 

The  Numismatic  Collection  possesses  at  present  about  80,000  coins, 
medals,  seals,  tesserae,  bullae  and  incised  stones  of  every  age  and 
country. 

The  series  of  Papal  coins  is  undoubtedly  the  largest  and  most  impor- 
tant; it  comprises  about  15,000  specimens,  of  which  about  1100  are  in 
gold,  8000  in  silver,  and  the  rest  in  alloy  or  copper.  This  collection, 
which  has  been  recently  described  in  three  large  volumes  with  over 
one  hundred  and  eighty  plates,  is  rightly  considered  the  most  impor- 
tant medieval  and  modern  series  in  existence,  and  has  always  enjoyed 
the  high  appreciation  of  students  of  art.  The  collection  contains  an 
almost  unbroken  series  of  Papal  coins  from  the  eighth  century  to  the 
j^ear  1870,  and,  together  with  the  splendid  series  of  Papal  medals,  bullae 
and  leaden  seals,  furnishes  a  history  of  Italian  engraving  art  from  the 
fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  through  the  Middle  Ages  and  Renaissance 
period  down  to  our  own  time.  Guazzalotti,  Cristoforo  di  Geremia, 
Camelio,  Grechetto,  Leone  Leoni,  Sperandio,  Francia,  Benvenuto  Cel- 
lini and  many  other  celebrated  artists  worked  in  the  Papal  mint  during 
the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries;  the  Hamerani  family,  which 
came  from  Germany  to  Rome  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, furnished  a  large  number  of  excellent  artists,  who  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  had  equally  famous  successors,  such  as  Girometti  and 
Cerbara.  The  specimens  in  this  department  are  so  excellent  and  nu- 
merous that  they  need  not  fear  comparison  with  any  other  collection. 

The  collection  of  ancient  coins  dating  from  Republican  and  Imperial 
Rome  is  not  inferior  in  number,  rarity  or  state  of  preservation.  As  this 
series  is  continued  by  the  Papal  coins  of  the  first  part  of  the  eighth 
century,  the  two  collections  give  a  faithful  reflection  of  the  artistic 
history  of  the  Eternal  City  for  twenty-four  centuries,  and  thus  form 
the  noblest  series  of  coins  in  the  world.  Selected  from  numerous  col- 
lections, the  series  of  Republican  coins  is  unsurpassed,  whether  in  the 
number,  rarity  or  excellence  of  its  specimens.  It  contains  more  than 
7000  coins,  including  the  heavy  bronze  ones  of  the  primitive  age,  and 
its  historical  interest  is  universally  recognized,  since  it  furnishes  au- 
thentic information  of  an  epoch  which  has  left  but  few  contempora- 
neous records.  Portraits  of  heroes,  both  legendary  and  historic,  are 
combined  in  these  small  coins  with  notices  of  the  most  celebrated 
events  in  the  history  of  Rome,  furnishing  us  with  almost  contemporary 


THE  NUMISMATIC  COLLECTION 


423 


8. 

Ancient  Papal  Coins 

(1)   Gregory  III,  731-741.     (2)   Zacharias,  741-752.     (,S)   Leo  III,  79.5-81(1.     (4)   Eugene  II,  824-827. 
(5)   Valentine,  827.     (B)   Gregory  IV,  827-844.     (7)   Benedict  III,  85.")-8.')8.     (8)    Marinus  II,  942-940. 

comment.  With  this  rare  collection  are  linked  the  names  of  many 
famous  numismatists,  such  as  Borghesi,  Garrucci,  Tessieri  and  Baron 
d'Ailly,  either  because  they  collaborated  in  its  development  or  because 
it  furnished  them  with  material  for  their  profound  studies. 

Of  all  the  numismatic  series,  however,  that  of  Imperial  Rome  has 
received  the  most  attention  from  students.  This  starts  with  Julius 
Caesar  and  ends  with  Romulus  Augustulus,  and,  if  it  cannot  be  com- 
pared with  the  original  collection  taken  to  Paris  (particularly  in  the 
number  and  value  of  its  medallions),  it  still  retains  a  high  place  among 
Italian  collections.  It  contains  no  less  than  12,000  coins,  of  which  about 
500  are  of  gold,  and  has  besides  over  100  bronze  medallions.  Most  rare 
and  unique  specimens  are  not  lacking,  or  specimens  of  an  exquisite 
art  in  a  marvellous  stale  of  preservation.  These  products  of  the  mint 
of  Rome,  which  worked  longer  than  that  of  any  other  city,  form  a 
collection  of  artistic  monuments  and  historical  documents  of  the  high- 
est value  for  the  multiform  researches  which  have  been  instituted  into 
the  historical  development  of  this  extraordinary  city. 

Less  numerous  and  important,  if  considered  separately,  is  the  collec- 


424  THE  VATICAN 

tion  of  Greek,  Grffico-Roman  and  colonial  coins,  although  it  is  ample 
for  the  study  of  those  unsurpassed  and  insurpassable  products  of  the 
great  engravers  of  Tarentum  and  Syracuse,  and  allows  us  to  follow 
the  artistic  development  of  Greek  numismatics  from  its  beginnings 
down  to  the  Roman  conquest.  This  event  marks  the  sudden  and  pro- 
nounced decadence  of  the  technical  and  plastic  arts  in  the  land  of  every 
beauty,  for  thenceforth  to  Rome,  as  the  centre  of  all  activity,  turned  the 
best  artists,  deserting  a  province  which  no  longer  favored  the  develop- 
ment of  genius. 

The  other  series  are  also  representative  collections.  For  example, 
the  series  of  Italian  coins  and  medals  contains  all  that  is  necessary  to 
complete  the  study  of  Italian  art  in  modern  times.  Gifts  from  mission- 
aries have  enriched  the  gallery  with  series  of  coins  from  India,  China, 
Japan  and  other  Asiatic  lands,  and  there  have  been  some  donations  of 
American  coins,  especially  from  South  America. 

At  the  present  time  the  directors  of  all  numismatic  collections  aim  at 
limiting  their  scope  to  the  completion  of  those  series  that  are  of  most 
interest  to  the  institute  of  which  the  collection  is  a  part,  or  to  the  city 
or  country  in  which  the  collection  is  situated.  Thus  it  has  been  the 
chief  care  of  the  Popes  to  increase  the  series  of  pontifical  and  Roman 
coins  so  as  to  make  this  collection  ever  more  worthy  of  the  artistic 
traditions  of  the  Vatican. 


THE  HALL  OF  THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  CHARTS 


'*  •  %    %    -<  -%r  n.^-m^ 


She  Loggia  delle  Carte  Geografiche,  or  Hall  of  the  Geo- 
B  graphical  Charts,  occupies  portion  of  the  site  of  the 
^  former  Cortile  del  Bramante.  It  is  a  large  vaulted 
I  hall  adorned  with  arabesques  and  painted  figures, 
i  and  takes  its  name  from  the  number  of  charts,  or 
i  maps,  painted  on  its  walls.  The  historian  Giovanni 
Baglioni  says  its  first  architect  w^as  Girolamo  Muzzani 
I  of  Brescia,  and  in  the  large  inscription  over  the  en- 
trance door  we  read  that  the  gallery  was  begun  and  completed,  maps 
and  all,  under  Gregory  XIII,  in  the  year  IficSl.  Pius  VU  placed  in  this 
gallery  as  ornaments  some  marble  seats  and  numerous  pieces  of  sculp- 
ture, the  most  valuable  of  which  are  a  double  hermes  of  Bacchus,  an 
Epicurus,  a  Pythagoras,  and  an  Aristotle.  Other  alterations  and  repairs 
were  made  by  Urban  VHI,  as  the  arms  of  that  Pope  suggest  and  an 
inscription  dated  1631  informs  us. 

The  first  two  maps  we  meet  on  entering  show  us  Genoa  and  Venice 
face  to  face.  Under  the  former  is  written:  "Genua,  maritimne  Liguriae 
caput,  navalis  militife  studio  et  civium  virtutc  atque  opulentia  inclyta, 
minutissimis  nuper  sediticatis  moenibus,  tulam  clarissimae  Reipublic?e 
sedem  prsebet."  Under  the  other  we  read :  "Venetiae  civitas  admirabilis 
post  eversam  ab  Attila  Hunnorum  Rege  Aquileiam,  condita  anno  a 
salute  hominibus  restituta  CCCCLIV." 

Next  to  the  map  of  Genoa  we  find  Civitavecchia,  the  ancient  name  of 
which  (Portus  Trajanus  ad  Centumcellas)  is  used.  Facing  it  we  see 
Ancona — Civitas  Dorica,  as  the  legend  runs.  The  decorations  on  the 
ceiling  corresponding  with  these  maps  show  us  the  Baptistery  of  the 
Lateran  with  the  Baptism  of  Constantine,  the  building  of  old  St.  Peter's, 
and  the  building  of  St.  Paul's  with  figures  painted  by  Antonio  Tem- 
pesta,  a  Florentine  artist  known  as  II  Tempestino.  He  was  a  pupil  first 
of  Giovanni  Strada  and  later  of  Santi  di  Tito,  died  at  Rome  in  1630  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five,  and  was  buried  in  S.  Rocco  alia  Ripetta. 

Near  these  paintings  are  the  portraits  of  two  famous  geographers, 
Flavio  Biondo  and  Raffaele  Volterrano;  between  them  is  a  representa- 
tion of  New  Italy,  while  on  the  opposite  side  is  Ancient  Italy  betw^een 
the  figures  of  Strabo  and  Ptolemy.    After  these  on  the  roof  are  painted 

C  425  3 


426  THE  VATICAN 

St.  Sylvester  on  horseback  while  Constantiiie  holds  his  stirrup,  and  the 
Apparition  of  the  Cross  to  Constantine.  On  the  side  walls  we  next  see 
two  large  maps,  one  of  Liguria  and  the  other  of  Piedmont  and  Mon- 
ferrato;  the  corresponding  decorations  on  the  ceiling  are  the  scene 
showing  the  Translation  of  the  Remains  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  in  the 
harbor  of  Genoa,  and  the  Exposition  of  the  Holy  Shroud  at  Turin.  In 
the  centre  is  St.  Ambrose  forbidding  Emperor  Theodosius  to  enter  his 
church. 

Maps  of  Tuscany  and  the  Duchy  of  Milan  come  next  in  order  on 
opposite  walls;  on  the  ceiling  above  we  see  the  hermitage  of  Camalduli, 
where  St.  Romuald  founded  his  order,  St.  Francis  receiving  the  sacred 
stigmata  on  Mount  Alvernia,  and  St.  Ambrose  driving  away  the  enemies 
of  the  Church  from  the  gates  of  Milan. 

The  map  of  Perugia  faces  that  of  the  territory  of  Venice  beyond  the 
Po.  On  the  roof  we  are  shown  Bishop  St.  Constantius  healing  a  large 
crowd  of  the  infirm  from  his  prison  window;  two  scenes  from  the  life 
of  Jacob  stand  on  either  side  of  this  picture.  The  central  panel  shows 
us  the  Venetian  Ducal  Palace,  where  Pope  Alexander  III  is  in  the  act  of 
receiving  the  homage  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa,  who  kneels 
before  him.  This  scene  is  flanked  by  pictures  of  the  Bolsena  miracle 
and  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  preaching. 

Next  follow  the  map  of  the  Papal  Estates  in  Tuscany  and  the  map 
of  Friuli.  In  the  central  panel  of  the  ceiling  we  are  shown  Pope  Greg- 
ory VII  on  his  throne,  while  Countess  Matilda  offers  him  all  her  pos- 
sessions. 

Maps  of  Umbria  and  the  Duchy  of  Parma  and  Piacenza  follow,  and 
on  the  ceiling  we  see  the  meeting  of  Pope  Leo  IV  and  Attila,  King  of 
the  Huns;  over  the  window  on  one  side  is  St.  Clare  freeing  the  town 
of  Assisi  from  the  invasion  of  the  Saracens,  and  above  the  opposite 
window  Pope  Innocent  IV  frees  the  town  of  Parma  from  the  siege  of 
Frederick  II. 

The  map  of  Latium  and  the  Sabine  country  faces  that  of  the  Duchy 
of  Mantua.  In  the  centre  of  the  ceiling  above,  Christ  is  represented 
preventing  St.  Peter  from  leaving  Rome,  while  on  either  side  are 
painted  Moses  and  Jacob.  Another  scene  shows  the  Fall  of  Simon 
Magus.  Over  one  window  we  are  shown  the  City  of  Naples  and  the 
miracle  of  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius,  and  on  the  opposite  side  the  town 
of  Modena  is  freed  through  the  intercession  of  this  Saint. 

We  now  come  to  a  map  of  the  Terra  di  Lavoro,  the  Campagna  Felice, 
which  has  the  following  inscription:  "Campania  ea  est  amaMiitate,  ea 
utilur  coeli  benignitate,  ea  terrarum  foecunditate  ..."  Facing  this 
map  is  that  of  the  Duchy  of  Ferrara.    On  the  roof  St.  Benedict  is  seen 


THE  HALL  OF  THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  CHARTS 


427 


'I'lic  Hall  of  lliu  CiLugrapliical  (Charts 

discovering  Totila  in  disguise,  and  in  the  following  panel  Christ  is 
represented  among  the  Apostles  entrusting  to  St.  Peter  the  supreme 
care  of  the  Church.  This  last  painting,  with  its  life-size  figures,  is  the 
work  of  Romanelli.  Above  and  below  this  scene  are  a  view  of  the 
Monastery  of  St.  Michael  in  Bosco,  outside  Bologna,  and  a  scene  show- 


428  THE  VATICAN 

ing  the  transfer  of  the  miraculous  image  of  the  Madonna  to  Monte  delta 
Guardia,  also  at  Bologna.  These  paintings  are  thought  to  be  the  work 
of  Giovannangelo  Canini,  a  pupil  of  Domenichino.  Beside  the  window 
we  have  the  miracle  of  St.  Petronius  bringing  back  to  life  a  laborer 
who  has  been  crushed  under  a  column,  and  St.  Dominic  at  table  with 
his  companions  in  the  refectory  of  his  monastery,  while  angels  wait 
on  them  with  bread. 

The  two  maps  that  follow  show  the  Principality  of  Salerno  and  the 
City  of  Bologna.  The  central  painting  depicts  the  miracle  of  the  manna 
rising  from  the  body  of  St.  Andrew  and  its  distribution  among  the 
people  by  the  deacons.  Here  also  are  paintings  of  Sts.  Bernard  and 
Rainulf,  St.  Libcrius  driving  out  demons  from  the  possessed,  and  St. 
Anthony  of  Padua  preaching  to  the  fishes  on  the  sea-shore.  After  the 
tenth  window  we  come  to  the  map  of  Lucania,  which  faces  that  of 
the  Romagna.  Scenes  on  the  roof  show  us  the  election  of  St.  Severus 
as  Bishop  of  Ravenna,  and  St.  Peter  Damian  in  cardinalitial  robes  dic- 
tating the  rules  of  a  hermit's  life  to  a  group  of  solitaries.  Over  one 
window  we  see  St.  Francis  of  Paula  crossing  the  sea  on  his  cloak,  and 
over  the  other  St.  Ubaldo  liberating  Gubbio  from  a  siege. 

We  come  next  to  the  maps  of  Calabria  Citerior  and  the  Duchy  of 
Urbino.  The  ceiling  shows  us  the  miracle  of  St.  Francis  of  Paula  in 
the  fiery  furnace.  Then  follow  maps  of  Calabria  Ulterior  and  the 
March  of  Ancona.  The  miracle  of  the  translation  of  the  Holy  House 
of  Loretto  is  shown  on  the  roof.  In  the  panel  over  the  window  to  the 
right  the  Pope  gives  Communion  to  the  Emperor  Henry,  while  to  the 
left  we  see  St.  Marcellinus  miraculously  saving  the  City  of  Ancona 
from  fire.  Next  we  have  maps  of  Corsica  and  the  territory  of  Ancona. 
The  scene  on  the  roof  shows  the  cavalcade  which  went  to  seek  for 
Pietro  Celestino  on  the  Majella  Mountains  when  he  was  elected  Pope; 
beside  this  painting  are  Pope  Symmachus  and  St.  Bernardine.  The 
map  of  Sardinia  faces  that  of  the  Abruzzi.  On  the  roof  above,  Pope 
John  I  and  Boetius  consign  King  Theodoric  to  destruction. 

Maps  of  Sicily  and  Apulia  come  next.  On  the  roof  are  shown  Mount 
Garganus  and  the  apparition  of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel.  The  next 
map  shows  the  County  of  Venaissin,  that  is,  the  territory  around 
Avignon  formerly  possessed  by  the  Popes.  Opposite  this  map  is  that 
of  the  Salentine  Peninsula.  Beside  this  is  a  small  tablet  with  an  in- 
scription telling  us  that  he  who  carefully  and  accurately  drew  these 
maps  was  Padre  Ignatio  Danti,  a  native  of  Perugia  and  a  Friar 
Preacher.  On  the  ceiling  above,  the  Emperor  Valentinian  receives 
St.  Martin,  St.  Paul  heals  the  father  of  Publius,  who  was  ill  at  Malta, 
and  St.  Paul  is  seen  setting  out  from  Malta  for  Rome. 


THE  HALL  OF  THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  CHARTS     429 

At  the  end  of  tliis  hall  we  are  shown  the  old  harbor  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Tiber  as  it  existed  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  and  on  the 
opposite  wall  the  same  harbor  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Gregory  XHL 
Near  the  exit,  where  the  arms  of  Pope  Gregory  are  seen,  we  have  a 
view  of  the  Island  of  Malta  and  a  scene  showing  Malta  freed  from  the 
Turks. 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  determine  the  artists  who  painted  the  pictures  in 
this  Gallery.  We  have  already  given  the  names  of  the  designer  of  the 
maps  and  of  some  of  the  artists  who  painted  the  frescoes  on  the  ceiling. 
But  so  many  artists  have  worked  in  this  gallery  that  it  is  impossible  to 
identify  each  individual  artist  and  his  work.  We  know  that  Antonio 
Danti  (brother  of  the  geographer),  Muziano,  RafTaellino  da  Reggio, 
Paris  Nogari,  Pasquale  Catl,  Ottaviano  Mascherini,  Marco  da  Faenza, 
Giovanni  da  Modena,  Girolamo  Massei,  Giacomo  Sementa,  and  Loren- 
zino  da  Bologna  were  employed  here.  The  names  of  very  many  others 
have  escaped  the  historian  of  art,  but  this  fact  is  not  so  very  regrettable 
since  the  pictures,  with  few  exceptions,  have  little  artistic  merit  and 
serve  merely  as  a  pleasing  decoration  of  the  gallery.  The  maps,  how- 
ever, are  precious,  not  from  the  point  of  view  of  art  but  of  culture. 
They  are  most  valuable  for  the  history  of  geography,  and  also,  where 
they  represent  the  various  cities,  for  the  study  of  topography.  Here 
lies  the  real  value  of  the  Gallery,  and  the  reason  why  it  deserves  men- 
tion among  the  great  halls  of  the  Vatican,  although  to  remarkable  artis- 
tic grandeur  it  can  make  no  claim.  Besides  the  maps,  but  in  no  way 
connected  with  them,  this  Gallery  contains  seven  large  cartoons  exe- 
cuted by  the  German  painter,  J.  F.  Overbeck,  between  1857  and  1862. 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 

'°iiE  collection  of  books  has  alwajs  been  pursued  by 

!'f^S!!sr^=;f  yr  i)ersons  of  wealth  who  occupied  a  position  of  promi- 

^>s5'^^r--^  iience  among  their  fellow-men.    The  earlier  the  age, 

^^^5- Ir'^ r'^'^^l  -      "^'^  more  difficult,  of  course,  was  this  collection,  and 

; '?}  ^L^i^^lr  ■  -^  "i6  rarer  were  the  libraries;  for  in  olden  times  even  a 

\t  Vj^^^Is  V^  librarjf  of  moderate  dimensions,  consisting  as  it  did 

i'^Ka  exclusively  of  manuscript  materials,  represented  a 

■•'"  ^  fortune. 

Ill  (Jiii.slian  antiquity  the  active  scientific  studies  pursued  in  the 
great  monasteries  necessitated  a  collection  of  books.  This  need  was 
met  by  procuring  a  loan  of  the  books  and  having  them  copied  by 
learned  monks  in  the  different  monasteries.  In  the  Scriptoria  (or  copy- 
ing-rooms) of  their  monasteries  the  monks  prepared  not  alone  the 
books  for  their  own  use,  but  executed  also  the  commissions  of  out- 
siders. 

The  writing  material  used  for  extensive  works  was  generally  parch- 
ment. In  the  early  Middle  Ages  the  use  of  papyrus  was  practically  con- 
fined to  documents  prepared  for  the  state  chanceries,  and  paper  had 
still  to  be  invented.  Parchment,  however,  was  very  dear.  Conse- 
quently, when  one  wished  to  have  an  important  new  work  copied  and 
could  not  afford  or  did  not  wish  to  incur  the  expense  of  new  parch- 
ment, it  was  not  unusual  to  take  another  book  from  one's  library,  efface 
the  writing  from  the  parchment,  smoothen  the  surface,  and  use  the 
parchment  for  the  new  manuscript.  In  such  a  case  a  book  was  usually 
chosen  of  which  there  were  several  copies,  or  of  which  its  owner  did 
not  recognize  the  value.  For  example,  the  choice  often  fell  on  a  manu- 
script because  its  language  was  antiquated  and  thus  difficult  or  impos- 
sible to  decipher,  or  because  its  text  possessed  no  special  interest  for 
its  owner.  Parchments  which  were  thus  utilized  a  second  time  are 
known  as  palimpsests,  or  Codices  rescripti.  They  may  be  recognized 
from  the  fact  that  here  and  there  traces  of  the  first  manuscript,  or  at 
least  perforations  made  by  compasses  and  unconnected  with  the  sec- 
ond manuscript,  are  still  visible.  The  custom  of  using  parchment  a 
second  time  is  very  ancient,  since  the  early  Greek  and  Roman  writers 
speak  of  palimpsests,  and  was  especially  common  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  centuries  of  the  Christian  era.     Until  recent  times  a  gall-nut 

1:431: 


432  THE  VATICAN 

mixture  or  Gioberti  tincture  was  very  successfully  employed  to  render 
the  tirst  manuscript  again  visible.  At  present,  however,  much  better 
results  are  attained  by  a  special  photographic  process,  without  the  use 
of  corrosive  inks.  Later  on  in  this  chapter  we  shall  have  to  speak 
of  one  of  the  most  successful  and  renowned  discoverers  of  palimp- 
sests, Cardinal  Mai. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that,  generally  speaking,  important  collec- 
tions of  books  were  confined  during  the  Middle  Ages  to  churches,  mon- 
asteries, and  the  libraries  of  high  ecclesiastics;  and  among  these 
libraries  that  of  the  Popes  in  Rome  was  always  especially  prominent. 
Often  depleted  and  destroyed  by  war  and  revolution,  no  library,  how- 
ever, could  hope  to  enjoy  unarrested  development.  Beginning  from 
the  earliest  days,  the  Popes  labored  tirelessly  to  provide  in  the  greatest 
possible  completeness  the  literary  materials  necessary  for  the  proper 
discharge  of  their  exalted  office,  and  strove  to  preserve  for  future  gen- 
erations the  civilization  of  Classical  antiquity.  But,  as  the  result  of  the 
never-ending  troubles  of  the  early  and  later  Middle  Ages,  their  library 
had  all  but  disappeared  by  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century. 

At  Avignon,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  the  Popes  again  applied  them- 
selves with  zeal  to  the  collection  of  books.  John  XXII  (1316-1334) 
made  a  beginning  by  purchasing  books  and  having  manuscripts  copied 
at  Avignon.  Presents  of  manuscripts  arrived  from  all  sides,  and  a  very 
important  source  of  increase  lay  in  the  exercise  of  the  papal  right  to 
the  inheritance  of  prelates — the  ius  spolii,  which  declared  that  all  the 
possessions  of  a  deceased  member  of  the  Curia  fell  to  the  Apostolic 
Camera — that  is,  the  Papal  Exchequer.  The  glorious  pontificate  of 
Clement  VI  (1342-1352)  raised  the  Papal  Library  to  a  position  of  great 
splendor.  The  management,  or  prefecture,  of  the  Library  was  then 
entrusted  to  the  Sacristan  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces.  Until  1411  the 
Avignon  Library  was  located  in  the  Turris  Angelorum  (Tower  of  the 
Angels),  which  had  been  erected  by  Benedict  XII  (1334-1342). 

In  so  far  as  juridical  literature  was  concerned,  the  Papal  Library  at 
Avignon  surpassed  even  that  of  the  Sorbonne  in  Paris,  although,  gen- 
erally speaking,  the  latter  was  without  a  rival  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. The  Papal  Library,  unfortunately,  did  not  escape  the  common 
misfortunes  of  that  age,  and  was  so  scattered  that  scarcely  any  of  the 
books  there  collected  were  brought  to  Rome  when  the  Popes  returned 
to  their  residence  beside  the  Tiber  after  the  Council  of  Constance.  A 
large  number  of  the  Avignon  manuscripts  did  not  find  their  way  back 
to  the  Papal  Library  at  the  Vatican  until  our  own  day,  when  Leo  XIII 
purchased  the  library  of  the  Borghese  family,  which  had  secured  a 
large  portion  of  the  stolen  treasures  of  the  Avignon  Library. 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


433 


Tlic  Vatican  Library 
(D.  Fontana,  Architect) 


434 


THE  VATICAN 


l.rll   W'ill.U  dl'  the  \';ili(  an    Lil)ial> 

Martin  V  (1417-1431)  and  Eugene  IV  (1431-1447)  resumed  in  Rome 
the  collection  of  books,  although  these  were  now  intended  only  for  the 
private  use  of  the  Pope  and  the  Curia.  The  idea  of  founding  a  public 
library  occurred  first  to  Nicholas  V  (1447-1455),  when  he  made  the 
fourth  effort  to  establish  a  great  papal  library.  Eugene  IV  had  be- 
queathed him  three  hundred  and  forty  manuscripts,  and,  by  adding 
these  to  his  private  library,  he  formed  the  first  important  division  of 
the  new  collection.  In  systematic  fashion  he  increased  his  collection 
by  employing  copyists  at  a  fixed  salary  to  copy  those  originals  which 
could  not  be  bought  from  their  owners.  His  passion  for  books  induced 
him  to  send  experienced  men  to  Germany,  England,  and  even  Denmark 
to  search  for  and  purchase  manuscripts.  At  the  fall  of  Constantinople 
the  Turks  had  scattered  the  extremely  valuable  Imperial  Library. 
Papal  agents  were  commissioned  to  acquire  for  the  Pope  all  valuable 
manuscripts  which  had  belonged  to  the  Imperial  Library  and  were  for 
sale.  At  the  same  time  the  Pope  invited  all  the  exiled  Byzantine  and 
also  competent  Italian  scholars  to  Rome  and  commissioned  them  to 
translate  the  Greek  classics  into  Latin  for  his  librarv.    Before  this  inde- 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


435 


Kva^iAj 


AnothiT  \'i('\\  iif  llic  \'atii;iii  Library 

fatigable  collector  died  in  1455,  he  had  assembled  twelve  hundred 
manuscripts — an  extraordinary  number  for  that  time.  And  the  high 
importance  and  value  of  his  additions  increased  the  worth  of  the 
Library  as  a  whole  far  beyond  anything  that  the  mere  numerical  in- 
crease would  indicate. 

The  collection  of  Nicholas  V  had  not  as  yet  any  special,  fixed,  and 
public  habitation,  nor  was  there  any  special  librarian.  These  develop- 
ments were  reserved  for  Sixtus  IV  (1471-1484),  who  determined  to 
house  the  Library  in  the  Vatican  Palace.  The  Papal  Library  thus  be- 
came the  Palatine  Library,  in  which  originated  the  Vaticana,  as  the 
collection  is  now  commonly  known.  That  Sixtus  IV  should  have 
accommodated  these  precious  treasures  in  the  rather  dark  and  damp 
rooms  comprising  the  ground  floor  of  the  Cortile  del  Papagallo  is  a 
little  surprising.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that,  in  the  first  place, 
the  palace  was  not  then  so  extensive  that  one  could  choose  at  pleasure, 
and  in  the  second  place  experience  had  not  yet  discovered  the  proper 
arrangement  and  requirements  of  a  public  library.  These  rooms  now 
serve  as  store-rooms  for  the  Floreria,  and  those  who  view  these  quar- 


436  THE  VATICAN 

ters  to-day  cannot  suppress  tlieir  surprise  that  for  so  many  decades 

tliey  were  the  scene  of  brisk  scientific  activity. 

The  Pope  had  the  two  largehalls  painted  bvDomenicoand  David Ghir- 
landaio,  and  the  other  two  rooms  by  Melozzo  da  Forli  and  Antoniazzo. 
Many  traces  of  these  glorious  paintings  are  still  visible,  although  the 
mosaic  floor  of  this  period  has  entirely  disappeared.  Nor  has  any  trace 
remained  of  the  stained  glass  windows  made  by  the  German  artists 
Herrmann,  Georg,  and  Konrad.  The  gloominess  of  the  rooms  was,  of 
course,  still  further  aggravated  by  these  windows.  Sixtus  IV  named 
Giovanni  Tortelli  director  of  the  Library  of  Nicholas  V,  and  the  re- 
nowned Platina  librarian.  The  latter  prepared  a  catalogue  of  the 
collection.  In  one  of  his  mighty  paintings  Melozzo  da  Forli  has  immor- 
talized the  moment  when  Sixtus  IV,  with  his  two  nephew^s  beside  him 
and  surrounded  by  his  Court,  received  Platina  and  entrusted  to  him 
the  management  of  the  Library.  This  fresco  has  since  been  removed 
from  the  old  library,  and  is  now  one  of  the  treasures  of  the  Vatican 
Picture  Gallery.  The  library  halls  were  then  well  equipped  with 
shelves,  desks,  benches,  and  presses.  Many  of  these  pieces  of  furni- 
ture have  been  preserved,  and  serve  their  purpose  even  to-day.  Under 
Julius  II  (1503-1513)  the  halls  were  still  further  decorated;  but  while 
the  collections  continued  to  grow,  the  rooms  were  not  increased,  and 
the  majority  and  most  important  of  the  manuscripts  were  still  fastened 
with  chains,  as  was  usual  in  those  days.  In  exceptional  cases,  however, 
but  only  as  a  favor  to  specially  prominent  scholars,  individual  manu- 
scripts were  lent  out.  As  we  turn  over  the  extant  lists  of  those  who  used 
the  Codices,  we  are  met  by  the  name  of  every  one  who  was  then  promi- 
nent in  learned  circles  in  Rome. 

The  officials  of  the  Library  were  known  as  the  Custodians.  Begin- 
ning from  the  time  of  Paul  HI  (1534-1549),  we  find  mention  of  the 
purely  scientific  officials  known  as  the  Scriptores  and  Correctores.  Fi- 
nally, in  1548,  the  Library  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of  a  Cardinal 
Librarian,  an  office  and  title  which  stood  in  the  highest  repute  during  the 
Middle  Ages.  This  first  Cardinal  Librarian  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church, 
Marcello  Cervini,  succeeded  in  1555  to  the  papal  throne  as  Marcellus 
II,  but  enjoyed  a  pontificate  of  only  tw^enty-two  days.  During  his  term 
of  office  as  librarian.  Cardinal  Cervini  presented  two  hundred  and 
forty  manuscripts  and  many  books  to  the  Library.  It  need  scarcely 
be  said  that,  with  the  invention  of  printing,  a  collection  of  printed 
books  was  immediately  begun,  the  development  of  which  department 
will  be  dealt  with  in  detail  below. 

After  this  fundamental  reorganization  of  the  Palatine  Library  and 
the  assembling  of  its  treasures  in  one  place,  a  new  period  of  internal 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  437 

development  began.  Externally  also  an  extremely  important  change 
took  place,  when  Sixtus  V  (1585-1590)  carried  into  execution  the  plan 
already  conceived  by  Gregory  XIII  (1572-1585),  and  provided  a  new 
and  magniticent  home  for  the  Palatine  Library,  Among  the  number- 
less undertakings  upon  which  Sixtus  V  engaged  during  his  short  pon- 
tificate, one  of  the  most  famous  is  the  erection  of  the  huge  hall  of  the 
new  library.  In  so  far  as  one  may  judge  from  bills  of  cost,  this  gigantic 
hall  was  begun  and  completed  in  about  thirteen  months  by  Domenico 
Fontana,  at  a  cost  of  $25,850,  which  sum  was  paid  him  by  Sixtus  V  on 


This  building  divided  the  huge  Cortile  di  Belve- 

portions,  andbe- 
vided  withbook- 
turc,  and  other 
expenditure 
$42,075.  Itshould 
that,  inasmuch 
ing  power  of 
about  four  times 
the  cost  would 
about  $170,000 
day.  The  paint- 
bio  and  Gio- 
vvho  were  also 
other  commis- 
V, were  entrusted 
task  of  decorat- 
the  Sistine  Hall 
tino),  as  the  li- 
named.  These 
sent  the  most 
braries,        the 

I'onlana  kneels    belore  the  Pope       mVPTPr*;     of     tllP 

arts,  and  the  chief  events  of  the  pontificate  of  Sixtus  V.  The  last-named 
paintings  are  of  great  importance  for  a  knowledge  of  Rome  as  it  was  at 
that  time,  since  they  show  us  how  many  of  the  chief  monuments,  which 
were  later  surrounded  with  buildings  or  otherwise  altered,  then  looked. 
Into  this  hall  were  transferred  all  the  treasures  of  the  old  library,  a 
task  which  the  great  Pope  did  not  live  to  see  completed.  With  the 
change  of  location  the  name  of  the  Library  was  also  altered,  being 
henceforth  known  as  the  Vatican  Library.  Adjacent  to  this  depository 
for  manuscripts,  with  its  princely  equipment,  Sixtus  V  erected  a  large 
Reading-room,  and  had  there  carved  in  marble  regulations  for  readers 


September  16,  1588 
dere  into  two 
fore  it  w^as  pro- 
shelves,  furni- 
accessories  the 
amounted  to 
be  remembered 
as  the  purclias- 
money  was  then 
as  great  as  now, 
be  equivalent  to 
at  the  present 
ers  Cesare  Neb- 
vanni  Guerra, 
given  various 
sions  by  Sixtus 
with  the  great 
ing  with  frescoes 
(II  Salone  Sis- 
brary  hall  was 
frescoes  repre- 
famous  li- 

councils,  the  dis- 


Pope  Sixtus  V  (1585-1590)  approving  the  plan  of  the 
new  library  (in  Sistiiu*  Hall).  Beside  the  Pope  are  his 
two  nepliews  ;    the  prelate  in  a  niozetta   is  Cardinal 


Librarian  Carala 


438  THE  VATICAN 

drawn  up  by  himself.  The  whole  glorious  work  was  in  every  way 
worthy  of  the  exalted  conception  which  Sixtus  entertained  of  the  offices 
of  the  Papacy,  and  it  alone  would  be  sufTicicnt  to  immortalize  the  fame 
of  this  most  industrious  and  resolute  Pontiff.  Marco  da  Faenza  painted 
the  pictures  of  the  Sibyls  in  the  Reading-room,  and  Paul  Brill  decorated 
the  walls  with  landscapes.  The  wood  panels  from  the  Library  of  Sixtus 

IV  and  the  benches  made  by  Giovannino  de'  Doici  were  removed  to  the 
new  library,  as  already  stated.  To-day  these  highly  remarkable  pieces 
of  woodwork  have  almost  all  been  assigned  to  the  Appartamento  Bor- 
gia, for  which  place  they  seem  preeminently  suitable. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  rooms  of  Pope  Sixtus  V  proved  too  small 
for  the  ever-growing  Library,  and  it  was  decided  to  devote  gradually 
to  the  collection  the  long,  narrow  wing  which  is  adjacent  to  the  Gardens 
and  stands  at  right  angles  to  the  Sistine  Hall.  It  has  thus  come  to  pass 
that  the  whole  wing  of  the  palace,  running  from  the  Chapel  of  Pius 

V  to  the  entrance  to  the  Museum,  has  been  given  over  to  the  treasures 
of  the  Library  and  kindred  collections.  The  old  reading-room  of 
Sixtus  V  was  very  poorly  lighted,  since  there  was  but  a  single  window 
on  one  of  the  narrow  sides.  Yet  for  three  hundred  years  the  leading 
scholars  of  all  nations  here  carried  on  their  scientific  borings  into  the 
inexhaustible  mines  of  the  Vaticana — a  fact  which  in  itself  shows  how 
glad  men  were  to  gain  admission  to  the  Library  under  any  terms.  Leo 
XIII  built  the  new  reading-room  immediately  adjacent  to  the  old  and 
extending  to  the  Cortile  delta  Stamperia.  The  lofty  windows  on  the 
left  side  of  this  room  give  excellent  light  to  every  worker. 

But  whereas  at  first  the  rooms  for  the  manuscripts  and  books  had 
offered  more  than  ample  accommodation,  the  Library  again  outgrew 
its  quarters.  A  very  large  number  of  the  printed  books  were  accessible 
only  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  since  they  had  to  be  accommodated  in 
one  of  the  halls  of  the  Appartamento  Borgia,  which  was  not  yet  re- 
stored. When  Leo  XIII  decided  to  have  these  glorious  state-rooms 
restored  to  their  former  splendor,  the  books  had  to  be  removed.  He 
therefore  directed  that  the  armory  situated  under  the  Sistine  Hall 
should  be  cleared  and  that  a  consulting  library  of  printed  books  should 
be  here  established,  with  the  proper  conveniences  for  scholars.  The 
old  armory  (Armeria  pontificia),  which  is  the  same  size  as  the  Sistine 
Hall,  was  beautifully  decorated,  and  in  it  were  set  up  a  life-size  figure 
of  St.  Thomas  and  a  marble  bust  of  the  founder  of  the  Consultation 
Library  to  perpetuate  his  memory. 

But,  even  with  these  extensive  and  beautiful  additions,  the  demand 
for  space  was  only  temporarily  satisfied,  and  it  was  reserved  for  Pius 
X  to  cope  with  the  situation  in  comprehensive  fashion.    Under  the  old 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


439 


n  c  e  N  c>\ctrr^\  n  ^^o  i,M  rr*.' 
^       B'njit.i-rciWKdCMOWXii' 


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OAAH_IMk*(eN  n  acWthi^ 

rnyAA'tAKA'CAM  AftlAt) 


eu>-ce^5CATOyTncj'»<: 
,KAnri>.'/-^    -ImaJNAyiii; 
8:a<=  no  WT'-  ...  ■  e  n  H reiii;^ 
■  fj<^  <i>  e  AW  yi- 1  e  A  A  s  t  N  Ay 
-VoAfcATi  o'l^'ji  ^' <•' H^''^**-'*  ■ 

I  Aj'truJATK  * '  t"  c aH  V  "^i  -■ 
•  (B^^rwxxAfi «?  i-c  T-o  M  oy  j- A 

.r^>vi*7ttJ'(VE.YOMtM>a;Y'>>Y 

rJA.»eiC7  'HKf  I  c  A>4  Ayv  •»' 
i»M^*-eJitefc'ci  ^lAtyKAw 

i  vlilJR!  A<  e  I N  A  M  AN  Af  eCX-'t' 
^V<f»AAIOITIUCn"MKA;*' 

gAc'iioKi;!  cct'ic.wwoy 

r  PAWOMOyrOC'OfCOANA 

kwN<)<|p.OeiCAvb^MUJM 

#ir"i°^  ''j-^,-.£i>koYT<-t « 
€AeYccn'*'ONT-po'nc-M 
eeeACAeeeAy'roNfio, 
■eyo'MeMONtieToMoy 
»>*  ;amo»j :!_rwo''re-^rtfc'cijj« 
,y»  'A.^*tj'^ fi "3 toy t-y^AH m  kT^ 
aooVoyo'r-oYK'AAo-Juw 
M<3YtAAi<ii>MOc:<;>ec-r-i  ^ 
.  J       crryci'«v/oY«"AA»+A»c;s« 
R  A-roy e v«u,tiioA.6  m  K-i  1 
o-FeeVoHA«»;PNe.rcT<?^ 
neiKi/ow  Ai-it^fcMf'Aiiicr-^v 

-  o-rey\  trj  t  ock Aj  iu^aVM'' 
X  Ai  I  AKiWRob  K  AJf^-ti  ^ri  ^ 
AC  xJ^i'a****}^*-  in«j:(puiu»' 

OATOC  tKkafHOCAAcK^I-y 
K:  AlCl  MUJH- OtIHA<Al'!*Mf 
KAI  io*(  A.A<-<-»-K<X'Jl<>Yi 
flfy-roi  «J>x»wSec  M  c  A  M  nf" 

ic  Af  T^er  oi^^  wf^e^G  o'm  o>st_ 

T'.Y''^''*?l'*'»'A»M  AM^^^TH 

_      MMni"*  ijy  i<;vvii.-yNiT-o!|<^»^ 
B  J*  A.eA"d!>okCAyrx>yAAiirN 


;?^ 


Codex  Vaticanus  Graecus  1209  (Codex  B) 
The  most  famous  of  all  Greek  MSS.  of  the  Bible.     (Fourth  Century) 

and  the  new  reading-rqoms  lay  the  Vatican  Press,  and  adjacent  to  this 
a  lofty  and  very  long  hall  situated  under  the  Gallery  of  Inscriptions. 
Pius  X  first  assigned  this  hall  for  the  accommodation  of  the  books  and 
numerous  manuscripts  of  the  Barberini  Library  and  Archives.    Then, 


440  THE  VATICAN 

when  the  Polyglot  Press  of  the  Propaganda  was  suppressed,  a  new 
home  was  found  elsewhere  for  the  reorganized  Vatican  Press.  The 
rooms  formerly  belonging  to  the  Vatican  Press  were  then  redecorated 
and  assigned  to  the  administration  of  the  Library.  These  changes  made 
it  possible  to  change  the  Reading-room  from  the  first  to  the  ground 
floor,  where  it  was  immediately  adjacent  to  the  Consulting  Library. 
For  readers  this  innovation  meant  an  extraordinary  facilitation  of  their 
work,  since  a  few  steps  now  bring  them  to  the  printed  books  in  the 
Consulting  Library.  The  new  reading-room  lies  exactly  under  the  sec- 
ond Sistine  reading-room,  while  under  the  tirst  lies  the  Biblical  Library 
of  Printed  Books.  A  number  of  adjacent  rooms,  which,  together  with 
the  second  reading-room,  are  still  unoccupied,  are  to  be  taken  over  by 
the  Library  administration  or  utilized  in  connection  with  the  funda- 
mental rearrangement  of  the  manuscripts.  What  considerations  led  to 
the  undertaking  of  so  important  and  extensive  an  enterprise  may  be 
here  briefly  explained.  The  manuscripts  were  preserved,  according  to 
collections,  in  the  low,  beautifully  painted  wooden  presses  of  the  state 
rooms  of  the  Sistine  Hall  and  of  the  wing  of  the  palace,  several  hundred 
yards  long,  which  borders  on  the  Gardens.  Consequently,  when  a 
scholar  desired  certain  manuscripts,  the  attendants  of  the  Library  had 
a  very  long  distance  to  go  from  the  Reading-room  to  execute  his  wishes. 
Thus,  when  the  attendance  at  the  Library  was  large,  the  attendants  had 
frequently  to  walk  many  miles  in  the  forenoon,  carrying  the  often  very 
massive  volumes.  This  condition  of  affairs  made  serious  demands 
on  the  strength  of  the  attendants,  and  was  a  cause  of  considerable  delay 
for  the  readers.  Furthermore,  the  state  rooms  of  the  Library  are  acces- 
sible to  strangers.  Experience  otherwise  gained  had  revealed  to  the 
authorities  the  danger  that  at  any  time  an  attempt  might  be  made  to 
steal  some  of  the  manuscripts,  if  one  of  the  presses  were  left  open  and 
careful  watch  were  not  kept  by  the  attendants.  The  safety  of  the  manu- 
scripts was  thus  not  so  well  assured  as  the  administration  desired.  The 
fact  that  no  manuscripts  had  been  previously  stolen  from  the  presses 
was  no  guarantee  for  the  future.  Finally,  there  was  the  danger  of 
fire,  however  remote  it  might  be:  should  some  evil-minded  visitor 
enkindle  a  smouldering  fire  in  one  of  the  presses,  and  should  the  tire 
break  out  during  the  afternoon  or  night,  priceless  treasures  might  be 
lost.  Since  the  Library  halls  are  vaulted  and  rest  on  arches,  all  other 
danger  of  fire,  except  from  lightning,  was  practically  eliminated.  Some 
persons  may  think  the  caution  of  the  Library  authorities  excessive.  But 
inasmuch  as  the  Vatican  officials  have  such  a  tremendous  responsibil- 
ity and  are  answerable  to  the  whole  educated  world,  they  cannot  be  too 
careful.     The  instalment  of  automatic  fire-alarms  may  bring  (juick 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


441 


IllAM'5VMMA'IiOCVl;VlLlArx\'M-CVL\UN.VtVMA.NlJ 
MAlOFvEvO\K\OVNlAUl5'OtA\ONIl^V5V\VbUE.': 


^>EtOUVONLSVA\-COiU'DON-rA5.lL\\AllDrBAl-Ai^\tNl 

DEllCiA>D0AVli\ll-NICa\/iD-5rh\A:vn-KAf>ESAI  . 
lA^JIVAViNIE^DfN5A5VA\&S.OSACACV•AUNAtAG05 

AD5 1  OVAEVl  N I  i  h\U  D  l-K  Al  C-l  N  CON  DIT  A50Lv'5 

Cocli'x  Vaticanus  Latinus  3867 

Fifth-century  MS.  of  Virgil  in  rustic  capitals,  showing  the  poet 

with  book-stand  and  book-case 

help  in  the  case  of  a  fire,  but  can  never  prevent  one.  It  was  thus  resolved 
to  remove  all  the  manuscripts  from  the  state  rooms  and  lodge  them  in 
adjoining  fire-proof  compartments  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
Reading-room.  Thus  all  the  above  fears  and  difficulties  were  removed 
in  so  far  as  human  efforts  could  remove  them. 

Before  this  task  was  accomplished,  great  difficulties  had  to  be  over- 
come. After  extensive  rebuilding  and  alterations,  roomy  quarters  were 
provided  immediately  above  the  Reading-room  and  fitted  with  iron 
presses.  Here  all  the  collections  of  manuscripts  in  the  Vaticana  could 
be  preserved,  while  ample  room  was  left  for  future  additions.  Thus 
the  endless  journeys  of  the  library  attendants  were  brought  to  an  end: 
a  few  steps  and  the  manuscript  is  now  found,  and  a  pressure  of  the 
hand  brings  the  elevator  down  to  the  Reading-room.    The  manuscripts 


442  THE  VATICAN 

are  now  safe  from  every  attempt  at  theft,  and  the  security  against  fire 
is  greatly  increased,  since  all  means  at  the  disposal  of  modern  technic 
have  been  employed  to  attain  these  ends.  This  reorganization  of  con- 
ditions is  an  accomplishment  for  which  the  gratitude  of  the  educated 
world  is  due  to  Father  Franz  Ehrle,  S.  J.,  the  indefatigable  Prefect  of 
the  Vaticana.  The  presses  in  the  state  rooms  which  formerly  contained 
the  manuscripts  are  now  filled  with  printed  ])ooks,  of  whose  number 
and  importance  we  shall  speak  below.  Although  these  also  receive  the 
greatest  care,  their  preservation  is  not  a  matter  of  the  same  supreme 
importance  as  the  preservation  of  the  manuscripts. 

The  huge  extent  of  the  halls  of  the  Library  is  all  the  more  astonishing 
when  we  consider  that  the  Vaticana  has  ever  been,  and  is  still,  an  exclu- 
sively manuscript  library — not  a  library  of  printed  books  or  even  a 
mixed  library,  in  which  one  may  study  equally  books  and  manuscripts. 
Only  readers  who  have  declared  their  desire  to  study  manuscripts  are 
admitted  to  the  Vaticana,  for  both  elsewhere  in  Rome  and  in  other 
cities  throughout  the  world  there  are  so  many  places  where  one  may 
study  printed  books  that  no  one  need  come  to  the  Vaticana  for  this 
purpose.  The  Vaticana  will  thus  always  preserve  the  character  which 
it  has  always  possessed — namely,  that  of  a  purely  manuscript  library. 
To  this  character  it  owes  its  importance  and  its  fame. 

Some  readers  may  believe  that,  inasmuch  as  Leo  XIII  established  a 
general  Consulting  Library,  the  above  statement  needs  at  least  some 
qualification.  The  Consulting  Library,  however,  was  never  established 
as  an  independent  institution,  but  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  scholars 
engaged  in  the  study  of  manuscripts.  All  the  literature  which  is  re- 
quired for  the  proper  study  of  the  manuscripts  may  be  already  found 
in  this  Consulting  Library,  or  will  be  added  later.  Printed  literature 
which  is  valueless  as  sources  of  information  on  manuscripts  is  ex- 
cluded. Admission  is  thus  absolutely  denied  to  persons  who  desire  to 
work  exclusively  in  the  Consulting  Library  of  printed  books.  If  the 
Library  authorities  aimed  at  collecting  printed  literature  in  the  same 
way  as  has  been  found  useful  and  necessary  in  general  libraries,  they 
would  very  soon  find  themselves  at  the  end  of  their  moderate  funds 
and  their  available  space.  The  firmness  with  which  all  proposals  to 
change  the  Vaticana  from  its  historical  position  as  an  exclusively 
manuscript  library  have  been  rejected  will  be  thus  better  understood 
and  appreciated. 

Administration. — The  Papal  Library  collected  in  Rome  in  the  fif- 
teenth century  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of  a  Ribliothecarius  or  Custos, 
subordinate  to  whom  were,  as  already  said,  the  Scriptores  and  later  also 
the  Correctores.    It  was  onlv  after  the  first  collections  of  manuscripts 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


443 


life 


S  3  a 


a-r 


ra    .!«  o  5  2 

^     ^  —  tc  5 

5  =  3- 

2      =  a;  -«    S. 

2    =  •=  *-  a. 


;»  a. 

5  ^ 


•j    »>  ■= 


o 
u 


E  si 


— ■    ?•  <  t:*  :? 


=  j;   ^.  ■- 


3 


o 
u 


1^    I/:   "^  ^ 


■3  -f 
S3  r 
^1^ 


444 

began  to  assume  impor- 
tance that  the  ancient 
office  of  Cardinal  Li- 
brarian of  the  Holy 
Roman  Church  was  re- 
vived in  1548.  Since 
that  time,  however,  the 
care  of  the  Vatican  Li- 
brary has  always  been 
entrusted  to  a  Cardinal, 
who  was  in  later  days 
given  the  title  of  Protec- 
tor of  the  Library.  The 
subordinate  officials  of 
the  Library  have  always 
performed  the  same 
duties,  although  their 
names  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  duties  among 
them  have  changed 
from  time  to  time.  It 
will  be  unnecessary  in 
the  present  work  to  give 
a  detailed  history  of 
these  changes.  It  will 
be  more  to  the  purpose 


THE  VATICAN 


/tTi1ioci>fo/CTmBfane--ftHynfc'B5m73cec>lnq.,rt5ir-6ff 

:^^^■>o1A■^cioJla^tale«ap^t1■^oe<:^Tntl}1■ngy^^4l-.ll-  i-a 
1}  V5"nir  ttn-tTnfqtrcomya^.firw8"t'n^e-»jTmn4. 

lMen4.iirr)^^.Tt{b3lV^tm5tTtn^tnlitii  ori?ibj.:]tie4tie 

TJ1.-7  Siun.Tif  i^cntmsftt  i»oftc  ttio^  .XjTtTiiJTmnbj 
U^pne-OTTi .  jjcjm -T^tH;  n  oTi  n '  fin  o^ivtrntn  eojn-Tti .  c^»i» 

XJOTtimo.i  trL.ainrab4S,j>t3T^"|;  >:"  ■"TAp»AbA.  q -mfice- 

03iic§»«tt.-n4>nt4rm^.Tt>(jnrt»Tt^n^9^teitEione- 

i«3ttr  oicfitr-  O.ajmwVmeiUbfteoic  -o^tmio. 

^eoic  <sirrm<l7ne<Vocmrmo.-^ 

5^  atent*ef  TieclTfitienc^^vsQma 
f  <£cm^i^Ron6n  •Toeco^'^iTTami^^c 
xttflmTTme-^nij'qiiilJicp  WW^ 

Codex  Palatinus  Latinus  Co,  fol.  137  r 


Psalter  with  glosses,  liturgical  prayers  and  a  tract  of  Boetius,  written 
in  the  peculiar  insular  script  of  the  ninth  or  tenth  century 


to  inquire  more  fully 
into  the  present  organi- 
zation and  the  various  activities  of  the  staff  employed  in  the  Library. 
The  office  of  Cardinal  Protector  was  recently  left  vacant  by  the  death 
of  Cardinal  Rampolla,  whose  numerous  learned  works  and  treatises 
established  his  claim  to  be  numbered  among  the  great  scholars  of  his 
time.  Even  while  he  had  to  bear  the  enormous  burden  of  the  Secre- 
tariate of  State  during  the  reign  of  Leo  XIII,  he  managed  to  find  some 
leisure  to  devote  to  works  which  awakened  the  admiration  of  scholars. 
The  most  conspicuous  of  his  predecessors  in  office  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  was  Cardinal  Angelo  Mai,  who  was  equally  famous  in 
two  fields.  In  the  first  place,  he  was  the  discoverer  of  a  practically  end- 
less number  of  previously  unknown  texts  of  high  importance  for  both 
religious  and  secular  science  as  well  as  for  Latin  and  Greek  literature; 
these  texts  fill  fifty  stout  volumes.  In  the  second  place,  he  was  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  discover  a  remarkable  number  of  palimpsests,  and  succeeded 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


445 


in  restoring  and  deciphering  the 
effaced  writing — a  task  that  was 
attended  with  enormous  difficul- 
ties. The  most  important  of  these 
discoveries  was  Cicero's  lost  work 
"De  republica,"  of  which  one  page 
is  here  reproduced.  After  Car- 
dinal Mai,  special  mention  must 
be  made  of  Cardinal  Mezzofanti,  a 

whom 
Li- 


painting   of 


MS. 


Coilex  Vaticanus  Latinu^  3808 
of  Terence's  Comedies,  written  in  the  Carolint^iau 
script  of  the  tenth  century 


life-sized    oi 

hangs  in  the  line  of  Cardina 
brarians,  although  he  never  oc- 
cupied this  office,  but  only  the 
more  modest  post  of  Prefect.  It 
was  believed,  however,  that  an  ex- 
ception should  be  made  in  the  case 
of  this  Cardinal  in  view  of  his 
extraordinary  celebrity.  Before 
being  called  to  Rome  in  1831,  he 
was  professor  of  Oriental  lan- 
guages in  Bologna.  Two  years 
later  he  was  appointed  Custodian 
or  Prefect  of  the  Vatican  Library.  In  1838  he  was  raised  to  the  Car- 
dinalate,  and  later  filled  a  great  number  of  important  offices.  He  was 
chiefly  famous  for  his  extraordinary  knowledge  of  languages,  in  which 
he  was  without  a  rival.  He  spoke  and  wrote  about  fifty  languages  and 
dialects  perfectly,  and  understood  some  twenty  more.  He  was  thus 
regarded  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world;  and  when  he  visited  the 
College  of  the  Propaganda,  where  theologians  from  the  five  continents 
and  from  every  nation  were  educated,  he  could  converse  with  each  in- 
dividual in  his  mother  tongue. 

While  the  Cardinal  Librarian  exercises  supreme  supervision  over  the 
Library,  and  all  special  and  important  regulations  must  have  his  ex- 
press approval,  the  real  burden  of  the  administration  of  the  Vaticana 
is  borne  by  the  Prefect.  The  present  incumbent  of  the  Prefecture  of 
the  Vaticana  is  the  above-mentioned  Jesuit  Father,  Franz  Ehrle.  When 
he  entered  into  office,  the  old  traditional  methods  prevailed  in  very 
many  details  of  administration,  insufficient  consideration  being  paid 
to  the  altered  conditions  of  modern  times.  The  whole  administration 
was  of  a  more  or  less  patriarchal  character,  and  certainly  no  undue 
importance  was  attached  to  the  punctilious  performance  of  duties  or 
to  the  exact  observance  of  the  appointed  working  hours.    To  abolish 


446  THE  VATICAN 

these  and  other  defects  in  the  administration  of  the  Library;  to  initiate 
and  carry  to  a  successful  conclusion  the  fundamental  revision  of  the 
general  regulations;  to  rearrange  and  make  easily  accessible  the 
printed  books,  and  find  proper  accommodations  for  the  library  thus 
reorganized;  to  install  a  department  which  would  undertake  the  enor- 
mously important  task  of  restoring  and  preserving  the  damaged  manu- 
scripts in  accordance  with  the  latest  discoveries  of  science;  to  bring 
about  the  transfer  of  smaller  collections  of  manuscripts  and  archives 
from  the  possession  of  religious  bodies  to  the  safer  custody  of  the 
Vaticana,  where  their  perfect  preservation  would  be  assured;  to  culti- 
vate intimate  technical  and  scientific  relations  \vith  the  other  great 
manuscript  libraries  of  the  world,  and  to  extend  the  usefulness  of  the 
Vaticana  in  every  possible  way — these  were  the  gigantic  tasks  for 
which  Father  Ehrle  was  summoned,  and  to  assist  him  to  execute  them 
he  was  given  the  most  binding  assurances  that  in  every  instance  he 
might  count  on  the  lirm  support  of  the  Cardinal  Librarian,  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  above  all  of  the  Holy  F'ather  himself. 

The  success  of  this  mighty  undertaking  required  tact,  patience,  un- 
bending energy,  wide  scientific  and  technical  knowledge,  and  espe- 
cially a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  new  surroundings  in  which  the 
Prefect  found  himself.  During  his  first  months  of  office  Father 
Ehrle  had  to  contend  with  all  manner  of  obstacles,  and  only  little  by 
little  did  he  succeed  in  winning  lirst  the  respect,  and  afterwards  the 
veneration,  of  his  subordinate  officials.  Notwithstanding  their  absolute 
necessity,  his  innovations  encountered  in  many  instances  a  passive 
resistance  which  it  appeared  scarcely  possible  to  overcome.  Thanks, 
however,  to  his  wonderful  patience  and  exemplary  firmness,  he  finally 
carried  the  day.  It  was  only  when  it  became  clear  to  every  class  of  the 
officials  that  Father  Ehrle's  system  aimed  solely  and  directly  at  extend- 
ing the  fame  and  importance  of  the  venerable  Library  of  the  Popes, 
that  the  true  spirit  of  cooperation  began  to  inspire  every  member  of  the 
Library  administration,  which  thenceforth  became  a  body  striving  for 
one  object  and  animated  by  one  ideal.  This  happy  outcome  redounds 
to  the  credit  of  all  parties,  and  has  made  it  possible  to  carry  the  Vati- 
cana to  its  present  pitch  of  development. 

After  Father  Ehrle  had  borne  the  burden  of  the  administration  for 
many  years  unassisted,  he  desired  to  be  relieved  of  some  portion  of  his 
duties  so  that  he  might  have  leisure  for  scientific  work.  At  his  sugges- 
tion, the  Prefect  of  the  Ambrosian  Library  in  Milan,  the  celebrated 
Mgr.  Ratti,  was  appointed  Vice-Prefect  of  the  Vaticana  with  right  of 
succession.  Consequently,  the  Vaticana  has  now^  at  its  head  two  schol- 
ars in  whom  the  educated  world  places  unbounded  confidence  on 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


447 


448  THE  VATICAN 

account  of  their  learning  and  ripe  experience  in  all  questions  of  mod- 
ern library  administration.  The  wide  knowledge  of  languages  which 
distinguishes  both  these  scholars  was  not  possessed  by  some  of  their 
predecessors,  whose  intercourse  with  foreign  scholars  was  for  this 
reason  often  carried  on  under  the  greatest  difficulties.  Furthermore, 
some  of  the  former  Prefects  of  the  Vaticana  were  not  completely 
versed  in  the  details  of  library  administration,  and  this  led  to  all  kinds 
of  misunderstandings  and  difficulties.  At  present  conditions  could  not 
possibly  be  more  favorable,  since  an  experienced  specialist  is  given 
time  and  leisure  to  make  himself  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  institution  whose  administration  he  will  later  have,  in 
all  probability,  to  undertake  alone.  This  wise  provision  to  secure  con- 
tinuity in  the  administration  cannot  be  rated  too  highly,  and  all  persons 
who  have  contributed  towards  bringing  about  this  condition  may  well 
feel  proud  at  the  results  of  the  very  difficult  negotiations  which  had  to 
be  undertaken  to  attain  their  goal.  A  special  secretary  is  entrusted 
with  the  official  correspondence  pertaining  to  the  Prefecture. 

The  staff  of  the  Vatican  Library  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — 
the  scientific  staff  and  the  attendants.  In  the  former  class  are  included, 
besides  the  regular  officers,  those  who  have  received  their  appointment 
as  an  honorary  distinction.  They  are  known  by  the  collective  title  of 
Scrittori  (Scriptores),  a  modest  and  indefinite  term  which,  however, 
assumes  great  importance  when  we  add  the  words  "della  Biblioteca 
Vaticana"  (of  the  Vatican  Library).  The  well-informed  person  knows 
that  this  title  guarantees  its  possessor  to  be  an  able  librarian  and 
scholar.  The  number  of  regular  Scrittori  is  seven;  there  are  besides 
three  emerited  Scrittori  and  one  assistant  Scrittore  (Scrittore  aggi- 
unto),  two  honorary  Scrittori,  and  some  honorary  assistants.  To  these 
officials,  who  are  also  known  as  interpreters  of  manuscripts,  are 
assigned  as  their  special  tasks  the  investigation,  arrangement,  and  de- 
scription of  the  Codices,  the  preparation  of  the  catalogues  of  manu- 
scripts for  printing,  and  the  supervision  of  the  printing.  Besides  these 
scientific  officials,  whose  work  is  confined  to  the  manuscripts,  there  are 
a  large  number  of  subordinate  officials  who  are  entrusted  with  the  care 
of  the  printed  books,  the  books  of  plates,  and  the  illustrated  works.  The 
attendants  perform  the  manual  labor,  but  even  for  this  duty  only  very 
experienced  and  trustworthy  men  are  appointed.  A  number  of  book- 
binders are  engaged  in  manufacturing  new  bindings  or  repairing  the 
old.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  the  leather  covers  of  manuscripts 
are  provided  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Pope  during  whose  reign  the 
Codex  was  added  to  the  Library.  The  bindings  of  the  printed  books  do 
not  contain  this  im])rint. 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


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450  THE  VATICAN 

The  Manuscript  Clinic,  or  the 
department  devoted  to  the  repair- 
ing of  damaged  manuscripts,  oc- 
cupies a  very  important  place  in 
the  Library  organization.  Many 
Codices  of  the  sixteenth  and  sev- 
enteenth centuries,  for  example, 
were  written  with  a  broad  pen, 
and  thus  reveal  a  quantity  of  ink 
on  the  paper.  In  very  many  in- 
stances this  ink  contains  strongly 
corrosive  elements  which  destroy 
the  paper  and  cause  letters,  syl- 
lables, and  words  to  fall  away. 
When  the  paper  is  written  only  on 
one  side,  the  damage  thus  done  is 
serious  enough,  although  many  of 
the  missing  portions  may  be  de- 
ciphered from  the  silhouettes 
which  have  been  left  behind.  But 
when  both  sides  of  the  paper  have 
been  written  on,  whole  pages  may 
be  irretrievably  lost.  How  is  a  halt  to  be  put  to  this  progressive'decay? 
Or  suppose  that  the  Vatican  Library  has  acquired  a  parchment  manu- 
script which  has  suffered  greatly  from  damp,  the  ravages  of  time, 
mould,  or  bad  treatment;  while  in  such  a  condition  it  cannot  be  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  scholars,  since  use  would  only  cause  it  still  more 
serious  damage;  and  besides,  many  pages  and  lines  have  become  abso- 
lutely indecipherable.  Or  suppose  again  that  a  parchment  manuscript 
has  fallen  into  water,  and  half  of  its  pages  have  become  so  tightly  stuck 
together  that  to  open  them  is  now  scarcely,  if  at  all,  possible.  Are  such 
manuscripts  to  be  lost  to  science,  or  can  any  remedy  be  devised  to  save 
them  from  their  present  wretched  condition?  Or,  finally,  let  us  sup- 
pose that  a  number  of  parchment  leaves  and  remnants  of  Codices  are 
found  in  some  corner,  where  they  have  lain  in  utter  neglect  for  long 
centuries  and  been  exposed  to  all  the  indirect  influences  of  the  weather. 
Perhaps  it  may  not  be  possible  even  to  determine  what  text  stands  on 
the  pages,  to  such  an  extent  has  it  been  erased  by  the  tooth  of  time.  Is 
it  possible  in  such  a  case  for  the  careful  and  skilled  hand  of  the  restorer 
of  manuscripts  to  unveil  the  mystery  shrouded  in  these  written  lines? 
Such  are  a  few  of  the  problems  which  the  Manuscript  Clinic  of  the 
Vatican  Library  has  to  solve.    Nothing  further  need  be  said  of  the  ira- 


Ciicicx  Urbinas  Latinus  112 

!treviai-y  of  King  Matthias  Corvinus  of  Hungary, 

painted  about   11X7 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  451 

portance  of  this  departmcMit,  since 
it  is  evident  that  an  institntion  that 
could  solve  these  problems  in  a 
satisfactory  way  would  be  sure  of 
the  commendation  of  all  educated 
people. 

In  the  Vaticana,  and  indeed  to  a 
certain  extent  in  all  important  li- 
braries, great  importance  was  at- 
tached from  the  very  beginning  to 
the  repairing  of  manuscripts.  In 
earlier  times  this  was,  of  course,  a 
more  or  less  summary  business 
which  was  contined  to  the  binding, 
a  general  cleaning  of  the  manu- 
script, the  adding  of  lost  corners, 
and  so  forth.  No  attempt  was 
ever  made  to  institute  a  scientific 
inquiry  to  discover  some  means  of 
removing  the  cause  of  the  progres- 
sive decay.  This  task  was  reserved 
for  our  own  times,  and  the  Prefect 
of  the  Vatican  Library,  Father 
Ehrle,  was  the  inspiring  spirit  of  all  the  investigations  which  had  for 
their  object  the  general  prevention  of  damage  to  manuscripts.  From 
the  year  1896  onwards,  all  new  processes  w^ere  tested  in  the  Manuscript 
Clinic  of  the  Vatican  Library,  and  special  processes  further  developed. 
At  the  instance  of  Father  Ehrle,  an  international  congress  assembled  in 
the  summer  of  1898  at  the  celebrated  Monastery  of  St.  Gall  in  Switzer- 
land for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  directors  of  the  leading  libraries 
to  exchange  views  and  experiences.  It  was  there  decided  to  place  a 
large  sum  at  the  disposal  of  the  Manuscript  Clinic  in  the  Vatican  Li- 
brary to  be  applied  to  extensive  researches  in  the  domain  of  manuscript 
preservation.  These  researches  were  attended  with  very  favorable 
results,  and  have  given  rise  to  a  comparatively  extensive  literature  on 
the  subject,  to  which  persons  interested  in  the  matter  may  be  referred 
for  detailed  information. 

Not  alone  has  the  Vaticana  undertaken  a  number  of  extraordinarily 
tedious  and  difficult  works  of  repair  in  connection  with  its  own  manu- 
scripts, but  it  has  also  restored  in  exemplary  fashion  celebrated  Codices 
belonging  to  religious  bodies  of  various  countries.  One  of  the  most 
famous  cases  of  this  kind  was  its  work  in  assuring  the  preservation  of 


r.odex  Urbinas  Katinus  112 

Another  page  of  the  Rreviary  of  King  Matthias 

Corvinus  of  Hungary 


452  THE  VATICAN 

the  Vercelli  manuscript  of  the  Bible,  which  had  fallen  into  utter  decay. 
This  manuscript  dates  from  the  iifth  century.  Some  years  ago  the 
Morgan  Collection  sent  fifty  damaged  Coptic  manuscripts  to  the  Vati- 
can, accompanied  merely  by  a  short  note  requesting  that  the  Manu- 
script Clinic  undertake  the  task  of  repairing  them.  Father  Ehrle  was 
unable  to  take  up  the  matter  at  the  time,  but  later  answered  that  he 
would  not  be  in  a  position  to  grant  the  request  until  it  had  been  estab- 
lished that  the  Codices  were  really  valuable.  The  mere  fact  that  some 
three  hundred  thousand  scudi  had  been  paid  for  the  manuscripts  was 
in  itself  no  guarantee  of  their  scientific  value.  After  an  unbiassed 
opinion  of  experts  had  been  secured,  with  a  view  to  determining  that 
the  manuscripts  were  really  worth  the  expenditure  of  money  and  labor 
necessary  for  their  repair,  the  Prefect  answered  that  he  was  willing  to 
undertake  the  task  on  the  understanding  that  the  work  was  to  be  done 
as  opportunity  offered,  since  of  course  the  current  repairs  for  the  Vati- 
can Library  could  not  be  interrupted  and  preference  given  to  manu- 
scripts belonging  to  outside  parties.  The  owners  of  the  manuscripts 
agreed  to  this  condition,  but  several  years  must  still  elapse  before  the 
extensive  repairs  can  be  executed  in  this  incidental  manner.  The  cost 
of  the  repairs  is  naturally  defrayed  by  the  Morgan  Collection. 

A  few  years  ago,  late  in  the  evening,  a  fire  broke  out  in  this  Manu- 
script Clinic  as  the  result  of  the  spontaneous  ignition  of  some  chemicals. 
These  were  very  anxious  hours  for  the  Library  administration,  but 
fortunately  the  fire  was  finally  extinguished  without  any  serious  dam- 
age being  done.  The  roof,  which  had  been  burned,  was  quickly 
restored,  but  the  fire  was  the  occasion  of  more  elaborate  precautionary 
regulations  than  had  previously  prevailed. 

The  salaries  enjoyed  by  the  officials  of  the  Vatican  Library  are  more 
than  modest.  Not  one  of  them — not  even  the  Prefect  himself — receives 
more  than  fifty  dollars  a  month.  For  supplies,  and  so  forth,  the  Library 
has  at  its  disposal  only  the  insignificant  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars, 
as,  in  view  of  the  present  financial  position  of  the  Holy  See,  the  Pope  is 
unable  to  assign  more  to  the  Library.  Thus,  if  the  Prefect  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  securing  from  private  sources  large  sums  for  the  needs  of  the 
Library,  even  the  most  urgent  purchases  would  be  often  neglected. 
The  great  expense  entailed  by  the  rebuilding  of  the  hall  for  the  manu- 
scripts and  the  various  works  connected  therewith  was  gladly  met  by 
the  Pope  because  these  changes  were  absolutely  necessary.  In  finan- 
cial matters  the  Library  is  subject  to  the  Prefect  of  the  Apostolic  Pal- 
aces, who,  although  forced  at  limes  to  postpone  necessary  appropri- 
ations, always  ends  by  making  them. 

The  Library  Archives,  in  which  the  administrative  acts  are  preserved. 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  453 

have  been  recently  put  in  order.  Unfortunately,  they  do  not  extend 
back  beyond  the  time  of  the  tirst  Cardinal  Librarian,  Marcello  Cervini 
(1548).     By  far  the  most  interesting  of  the  old  papers  are  the  loan 


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registers.  One  of  the  illustrations  shows  a  loan  certificate  signed  by 
the  Pope  himself.  Besides  its  inherent  interest,  this  certificate  is  also 
important  as  a  specimen  of  papal  documents. 


454 


THE  VATICAN 


Map  of  F.uropc  of  the  year  laOCi 

ContainillK  so  many  details  that  it  is  vi-ry  (iitliiult  to  read  them  all,  even  in  the  iiriginal.     The  flsuie 
of  the  Madonna,  between  two  angels,  and  the  nRuies  typical  of  the  various  races  are  of  great  beauty. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  north  of  the  map  is  to  the  right 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  455 

Admission  to  the  Reading-room  of  the  Library  was  formerly  given 
on  practically  the  same  conditions  as  prevailed  in  other  places.  All 
that  is  required  at  present  is  that  the  request  for  admission  be  signed 
by  a  scholar  known  to  the  Library  authorities.  No  other  formalities  of 
any  kind  are  recjuired,  the  reader  being  immediately  admitted.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  there  are  very  few  important  manuscript  libraries  to 
which  admission  can  be  obtained  so  promptly  and  easily  as  the 
Vaticana. 

In  former  times  it  was  customary  to  mark  a  small  black  cross  on  the 
back  of  all  manuscripts  which,  because  of  their  contents,  it  was  not 
deemed  advisable  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  all  scholars  indiscrimi- 
nately. When  such  a  Codex  was  asked  for,  the  attendants  had  to  refer 
to  the  Prefect,  who  decided  in  each  instance  whether  the  Codex  might 
be  delivered  to  the  reader  or  not.  This  custom  of  regarding  certain 
materials  as  semi-secret  was  very  common  at  the  time,  and  found  a 
much  wider  application  elsewhere  than  in  the  Vatican.  Father  Ehrle 
has  entirely  suspended  this  old  custom,  and  to-day  every  scholar,  with- 
out exception,  is  entitled  to  examine  any  manuscript.  Of  course,  in 
delivering  extremely  rare  docimients  and  highly  important  works  of 
art  to  readers,  all  the  precautions  are  taken  for  their  safety  which  the 
special  regulations  of  the  Library  require.  It  was  formerly  a  rule  that 
two  copies  of  all  photographs  of  manuscripts  should  be  given  to  the 
Library.  This  regulation,  which  seemed  to  serve  no  intelligible  need 
and  only  multiplied  unnecessarily  the  quantity  of  materials  to  be  pre- 
served, was  summarily  abolished  b}'  Father  Ehrle,  although  it  still  pre- 
vails in  the  Secret  Archives. 

The  regulations,  dating  from  the  time  of  Sixtus  V  and  defining  the 
conditions  under  which  the  Library  may  be  used,  may,  as  remarked 
abo\e,  be  seen  chiselled  in  marble  in  the  old  reading-room.  In  the 
course  of  time  these  regulations  were  altered  by  the  Chirographa 
("Manuscripts,"  a  special  kind  of  Curial  document)  of  Clement  XII 
(1730-1740),  Benedict  XIV  (1740-1758),  and  Clement  XIII  (1758-1769). 
By  the  Decree  "Ex  audientia  Sanctissimi"  Pius  IX  abolished  some  holi- 
days which  were  especially  irksome  for  foreign  scholars.  In  his  "Motu 
proprio"  of  September  9,  1878,  Leo  XIII  introduced  other  alterations, 
all  these  changes  being  included  in  the  Decree  of  March  21,  1885,  which 
supplied  a  new  "Regolamento  delta  Biblioteca  Vaticana."  Appended 
thereto  was  a  "Calendario  per  I'apertura  e  per  lo  studio  e  servizio  della 
Biblioteca  Vaticana."  After  three  years'  trial  this  new  ordinance  was 
carefully  revised,  was  declared  a  permanent  law  by  the  "Motu  proprio" 
of  October  1,  1888,  and  still  determines  the  administration  of  the 
Library. 


456  THE  VATICAN 

The  number  of  Italian  and  foreign  scholars  attracted  to  the  Vaticana 
grows  unceasingly.  The  importance  and  number  of  the  manuscripts, 
the  ease  with  which  they  may  be  consulted,  the  favorable  conditions 
for  working,  attract  all  these  scholars  to  Rome.  While  it  is  indeed  true 
that  the  working  hours  might  be  increased,  at  least  the  complaints 
which  were  formerly  entered  concerning  the  number  of  holidays  are 
no  longer  valid  to-day.  In  winter  the  working-room  is  open  from  9  to 
1;  at  other  times  from  8  to  12.  The  working  year  extends  from  Octo- 
ber 1  to  June  27.  The  Library  is  closed  on  all  Thursdays  and  also  on 
certain  memorial  days,  the  Feriae  of  Christmas,  the  Carnival  season 
and  Easter,  and  certain  ecclesiastical  feasts.  Since  Father  Ehrle  became 
Prefect,  many  scholars  have  been  admitted  to  work  during  the  after- 
noon, on  Thursdays  and  on  many  holidays,  when  they  could  show 
satisfactory  reasons  for  this  preferential  treatment.  The  liberality  of 
the  present  administration  in  this  respect  is  gladly  recognized  by  every 
reader. 

Growth  of  the  Library. — To  trace  the  growth  of  the  Vatican  Library 
is  an  inspiring  task,  and  a  list  of  the  most  important  acquisitions  will 
clearly  reveal  that  the  Popes  of  every  century  have  shown  true  zeal 
and  inspiration  in  their  labors  for  the  development  of  the  Vaticana. 
Every  favorable  opportunity  was  embraced,  and  no  sacrifice  shirked, 
to  foster  in  every  possible  way  this  centre  of  scientific  activity  and 
scholarly  research. 

In  the  Fondo  antico  Vaticana  may  be  still  found  traces  of  the  340 
manuscripts  of  Eugene  IV,  which  were  mentioned  at  the  introduction 
of  this  chapter.  Before  the  death  of  Nicholas  V  the  number  of  Codices 
had  greatly  increased.  Under  Sixtus  IV,  770  Greek  and  1757  Latin 
manuscripts  were  purchased.  The  pontificate  of  the  next  Pontiff, 
Innocent  VHI  (1484-1492),  fell  in  the  period  when  printed  books  began 
to  be  widely  disseminated.  During  this  reign  many  printed  books 
found  their  way  to  the  Vaticana,  so  that  the  collection  now  numbered 
3650  manuscripts  and  books.  Among  the  purchases  of  Alexander  VI 
(1492-1503)  were  40  famous  Codices  from  the  old  Abbey  of  Bobbio; 
these  were  bought  from  Tommaso  Inghiranni.  The  four  halls  of  the 
Library  of  Sixtus  IV  w^ere  enlarged  bv  .lulius  II  (1503-1513),  since  the 
rooms  had  become  inadequate  to  receive  the  numerous  acquisitions 
to  the  Library.  After  Leo  X  (1513-1521 )  had  presented  to  the  Vaticana 
his  own  Greek  Codices,  the  Library  possessed  4070  books  and  manu- 
scripts. There  was  at  this  period  no  collection  in  Ihc  world  which  con- 
tained so  many  manuscripts. 

In  addition  to  the  princely  gift  of  240  Codices,  Marcello  Cervini,  the 
first  Cardinal  Librarian,  presented  many  printed  books  to  the  Library. 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  457 


i 


<:•"!,  \  \  iiliijiiiis  l.atinus  37.31  a 

Manuscript  Ltlter  of  King  llunry  VIII  of  England  to  Anne  Boleyn, 

written  in  French  and  signed  "H.  R." 


:?*" 


458  THE  VATICAN 

These  additions  and  the  JW^/.^^ 

250manuscriptsacquired 
under  Gregory  XIII 
(1572-1585)  filled  the 
last  available  nook  in  the 
old  library,  the  rebuild- 
ing of  which  under  Six- 
tus  V  thus  became  an 
absolute  necessity.  A 
contemporary  informs 
us  that  this  last  Pontiff 
sent  forth  emissaries  in 
every  direction  in  search 
of  manuscripts  that  were 
purchasable.  At  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century  we  find 
a  glorious  interest  dis- 
played in  the  Vaticana. 
The  celebrated  brothers 
Guglielmo  and  Tom- 
maso  Sirleto,  the  schol- 
arly Antonio  Carafa,  and 
Marcantonio  Colonna, 
known  equally  for  his 
political  influence  and 
his  know^ledge  of  lan- 
guages, bequeathed  their 
great  collections  of 
manuscripts  and  printed  books  to  the  Vatican  Library.  Fulvio  Orsini, 
who  united  a  wdde  scholarship  with  an  extraordinary  zeal  for  collecting 
manuscripts,  was  appointed  Corrector  grtecus  to  the  Vaticana,  and  on 
his  death  bequeathed  it  no  less  than  413  manuscripts  and  a  very  exten- 
sive collection  of  printed  books.  The  manuscripts  comprised  30 
Italian,  270  Latin,  and  113  Greek  Codices.  Thanks  to  this  addition,  the 
Greek  manuscripts,  which  were  highly  prized,  mounted  from  1287  to 
1400. 

Pope  Paul  V  (1605-1621)  proved  himself  a  true  Maecenas.  He  pre- 
sented the  Library  with  212  Greek  and  Latin  manuscripts,  and  during 
his  reign  Silvarezza  contributed  30  Codices  from  the  Abbey  of  Bobbio 
to  the  collection.    From  the  library  of  the  princely  house  of  Altemps 


'ri/iipniJ^iJ  t/taiti-Hriiajmd'Jf-Sti. 


A 


fmi-  mlTK ; 


Library  Archives,  Tomus  XXVI,  fol.  38  r 

Cardinal  Carafa "s  pelition  to  Gregory  XIII  for  the  loan  of  some  MSS. 
from  the  Library.  The  Pope  grants  the  request  by  adding:  Placet  el  Ita 
manilanius.  V.  As  signature  he  thus  appends  the  first  letter  of  his 
baptismal  name  (Ugo),  as  was  prescribed  in  the  case  of  such  docu- 
ments. The  Pope  has  also  added  to  the  text  the  words:  e  ne  pigli 
quietanzo 


Dc  Luxe  Binding  fvm     hr 
Blbliotheca   Palatina    (1577) 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 

(Altaems)  came  100  manuscripts. 
Ill  1610  the  same  Pope  purchased 
83  Codices  from  the  estate  of  Pros- 
pero  Podiani  for  1974  scudi 
($1914):  he  had  previously  ac- 
{[uired  25  Coptic  manuscripts 
from  the  estate  of  Raimondo.  All 
the  manuscripts  and  books  which 
formed  part  of  the  estate  of  Car- 
dinal Pole  found  their  way  to  the 
Vaticana,  so  that  the  reign  of  the 
Rorghese  Pope  must  be  reckoned 
one  of  the  most  important  eras  in 
the  life  of  the  Vatican  Library. 
When,  besides  these  services,  men- 
tion is  also  made  of  the  fact  that 
on  July  1,  1607,  Paul  V  issued  his 
Rrief  "ad  perpetuam  rei  memo- 
riam,"  "Alias  felicis  recordatio- 
nis,"  containing  detailed  instruc- 
tions concerning  the  management 
of  the  Library,  the  sketch  of  his  activity  is  complete.  This  document  is 
carved  in  marble  on  the  narrow  wall  of  the  Sistine  Hall. 

Pope  Urban  VIII  (162,'3-1()41)  purchased  a  large  num])cr  of  manu- 
scripts and  many  books.  He  had  39  parchment  Codices  and  many 
books  transferred  from  the  Ethiopian  Hospice  behind  St.  Peter's  to  the 
Vaticana,  which  then  contained  6026  Latin  and  1566  Greek  manu- 
scripts. At  the  same  time  Urban  added  a  new  hall  to  the  Library,  and 
separated  the  office  of  Custodian  from  that  of  Prefect  of  Archives.  But 
one  of  the  most  important  of  all  the  ^^atican  acquisitions  was  obtained 
in  the  transference  of  the  Heidelberg  Librarv  to  Rome.  At  the  founda- 
tion  of  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  this  collection  was  started  with 
the  private  libraries  of  Marsilius  von  Inghen  and  Konrad  von  Geln- 
hausen.  Constantly  increasing  in  size,  it  received  valuable  additions 
through  the  confiscation  of  tlie  lil)rary  of  the  Monastery  of  Lorsch,  in 
the  manuscripts  of  the  Cathedral  of  Mainz,  the  Arabian  manuscripts  of 
the  great  Orientalist  Postel,  and  in  the  extensive  library  of  Ulrich 
Fugger  of  Augsburg,  acquired  in  1584.  In  the  union  of  all  these  glo- 
rious treasures  and  the  library  of  the  Count  Palatine  Ottheinrich 
the  Bibliotheca  Palatina  had  its  origin.  This  contained  about  3500 
manuscripts  and  a  large  number  of  printed  books  when  Elector  Maxi- 
milian of  Bavaria,  after  capturing  Heidelberg  in  1623,  confiscated  it 


460  THE  VATICAN 

and  presented  it  to  Pope  Gregory  XV  (1621-1623).  This  Pontiff  sent 
his  librarian,  Leo  Allatius,  to  Heidelberg  to  receive  the  present  and 
bring  it  to  Rome.  It  was  only  during  the  reign  of  Urban  VIII,  however, 
that  the  Codices  and  books  came  into  the  actual  possession  of  the  Vati- 
cana.  Through  the  Treaty  of  Paris  (1815)  38  manuscripts  from  the 
Palatina  at  Rome  were  restored  to  Heidelberg,  and  852  followed  as  a 
gift  from  Pius  VII  in  1816.  This  great  increa'se  in  manuscripts  and 
books  maintained  the  Vatican  Library  in  its  old  position  as  the  leading 
library  in  the  world.  At  this  period  the  Heidelberg  Library  in  Rome 
was  called  the  Gregoriana,  because  it  had  been  presented  to  Gregory 
XV,  but  it  later  resumed  its  old  name,  the  Palatina. 

A  little  later  the  Vaticana  made  a  second  great  acquisition,  when 
Alexander  VII  (1655-1667)  brought  the  renowned  library  of  the  Dukes 
of  Urbino  to  the  Vatican.  This  included  1767  Latin  and  Italian,  165 
Greek,  and  128  Hebrew  and  Arabian  manuscripts.  The  printed  books 
of  the  Urbinatic  Collection  were  separated  from  the  above,  and  served 
as  the  nucleus  for  the  library  of  the  Roman  University,  which  is  known 
even  to-day  as  the  Alessandrina,  after  its  true  founder.  Another  very 
large  library,  that  of  Queen  Christina  Alexandra  of  Sweden,  the  well- 
known  convert,  passed  from  her  heir.  Cardinal  Decio  Azzolini,  to  his 
nephew,  Pompeo  Azzolini.  Alexander  VIII  (1689-1691)  purchased  it 
from  the  last-mentioned  and  assigned  it  to  the  Vaticana.  After  the 
duplicates  had  been  presented  to  Cardinal  Ottoboni,  the  Pope's  nephew, 
and  much  archival  material  had  been  assigned  to  the  Secret  Archives, 
the  additions  to  the  Vaticana  from  the  Queen's  library  consisted  of 
2102  Latin  and  119  Greek  manuscripts.  To  this  division  were  added 
1754  Latin  and  45  Greek  Codices  of  Pope  Pius  II  (1458-1464). 

From  the  information  given  above  it  will  be  seen  that  there  were 
already  a  fair  number  of  Oriental  manuscripts  in  the  Vaticana.  Clem- 
ent XI  (1700-1721 ),  however,  must  be  regarded  as  the  real  founder  of 
the  Oriental  section.  According  to  Carini,  he  dispatched  a  number  of 
scholars  into  all  parts  of  the  Orient  to  purchase  manuscripts,  and  thus 
succeeded  in  adding  to  his  library  several  hundred  Orientalia  of  very 
high  value.  Clement  XIII  (1758-17(59)  added  the  collection  of  manu- 
scripts from  the  private  library  of  the  brothers  Assemani,  which  con- 
sisted of  202  Syro-Chaldsean,  180  Arabian,  and  6  Turkish  Codices.  In- 
cluding several  small  purchases,  the  already  notable  collection  of 
Oriental  manuscripts  was  increased  by  about  500  during  this  reign. 
Benedict  XIV  (1740-1758)  secured  the  Fondo  Capponiano,  consisting 
of  288  Codices,  and  in  1748  purchased  for  5500  golden  thalers  the  whole 
collection  of  Cardinal  Pietro  Ottoboni,  which  contained  the  libraries 
of  Altemps  and  Sforza,  and  the  duplicates  from  the  library  of  the 


n46n 


462 


THE  VATICAN 


£:^j 


c 


B&3&T.-:- 


Fresco  in  the  Sistine  Hall,  showing  the  plan  for  the  rebuilding  of  a  large 
portion  of  Rome  begun  by  Pope  Sixtus  V  (1585-1590) 

Queen  of  Sweden  (see  above).  The  total  number  of  manuscripts  was 
3300.  To  this  collection  additions  were  later  made,  and  it  now  contains 
3394  Latin  and  472  Greek  manuscripts. 

During  the  last  century  also  the  Vaticana  made  some  extremely 
important  acquisitions.  The  papers  of  Angelo  Mai,  Gaetano  Marini, 
Eneo  Quirino  Visconti,  Mazzucchelli,  and  Giovanni  Battista  de  Rossi, 
together  with  a  portion  of  the  Maurist  correspondence,  were  all 
acquired  by  or  presented  to  the  Library.  These  were  put  in  order  and 
arranged  into  volumes,  and  now  form  a  goodly  series  of  important 
manuscripts.  Leo  XIII  purchased  for  $4500  the  manuscripts  of  the 
Borghese  family,  which  contained  300  Codices  from  the  old  papal 
library  of  Avignon.  These  came  to  the  Borghese  through  the  Aldo- 
brandini  family.  The  Borghese  themselves  purchased  100  Codices, 
which  were  thus  really  Borghesiana.  The  extensive  archives  of  the 
Borghese  Collection  were  assigned  to  the  Secret  Archives.  More  exten- 
sive and  more  costly  were  the  collections  of  the  Barberini  family,  pur- 
chased by  Leo  XIII  in  1902.  All  the  manuscripts  of  this  collection, 
among  which  were  many  of  the  highest  value,  a  vast  number  of  printed 
books,  and  all  the  archival  materials  were  incorporated  in  the  Vaticana. 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  463 

In  recent  times  the  Codices  Bor- 
giani  (not  to  be  confounded  with 
the  Burghesiani)  were  transferred 
from  the  Propaganda  to  the  Vati- 
cana.  These  are  mostly  Oriental 
manuscripts,  although  there  are 
many  Latin  and  Greek  manu- 
scripts among  them. 

In  the  above  enumeration  only 
the  larger  acquisitions  have  been 
mentioned.  It  would  be  quite  im- 
possible to  mention  in  detail  the 
extraordinarily  large  number  of 
small  purchases,  presents  of  a  few 
manuscripts,  or  the  less  important 
collections  acquired  by  inherit- 
ance. Sufficient,  however,  has 
been  said  to  show  that  the  Popes, 
mindful  of  their  position  and  their 
obligations  towards  the  civilized 
world,  have  developed  in  a  lavish 
manner  this  nursery  of  science. 

Manuscripts. — From  the  account  given  above  it  will  be  seen  that  a 
large  number  of  closed  collections  have  found  their  way  into  the  Vati- 
cana.  These  collections  are  not  divided,  but  are  administered  as  sepa- 
rate and  absolutely  distinct  divisions,  or  fondi,  provided  that  they  are 
large  enough  to  merit  this  treatment.  All  other  acquisitions  are  united 
in  one  large  collection.  Accordingly,  we  have  closed,  or  historic,  and 
open  fondi.  The  open  fondi  form  really  only  a  single  division,  that  of 
the  Codices  Vaticani.  These  Codices  are,  however,  divided  according 
to  languages,  and  thus  form  sixteen  open  fondi.  The  historical,  or 
closed,  divisions,  if  we  divide  them  according  to  language,  form  34 
fondi,  as  enumerated  below. 

The  Open  Fondi  are  as  follows:  Codices  Vaticani  Latini,  11,150; 
Grseci,  2330;  Hebraici,  599;  Arabici,  935;  Syriaci,  472;  Turcici,  80;  Per- 
siani,  83;  Coptici,  93;  ^Ethiopici,  77;  Slavi,  23;  Rumanici,  1;  Georgiani, 
2;  Armeni,  14;  Indiani,  39;  Sinici,  20;  Samaritani,  3. 

The  Closed,  or  Historical,  Fondi  are:  Burghesiani,  381;  Notarii  Aura- 
siacenses,  377;  Palatini  Latini,  2017;  Palatini  Graeci,  432;  Urbinates 
Latini,  1767;  turbinates  Grseci,  165;  Urbinates  Hebraici,  128;  Regmae 
Latini,  2103;  Reginse  Graeci,  190;  Reginae  Pii  II  Graeci,  55;  Ottoboniani 
Latini,  3394;  Ottoboniani  Graeci,  472;  Capponiani,  288;  Barberini  Latini, 


De  Luxe  Hinding,  showing  the  arms  of  Pope 
Clement   VIII   Aldobrandini    (1592-1605) 


464 


THE  VATICAN 


Corkx  Mexicanus  Vaticanus  3738,  fol.  (j(i  virsci 
Mexican  figures  with  explanatory  inscriptions  anil  comments 

10,000;  Barberini  Grseci,  590;  Barberini  Orientales,  160;  and  the  follow- 
ing Codices  Borgiani:  Latini,  760;  Grseci,  26;  Syriaci,  169;  Coptici,  132; 
Hebraici,  18;  Arabici,  276;  Persiani,  21;  Turcici,  77;  Armeni,  90;  Indiani, 
31;  Tonsinici,  22;  Sinici,  oil;  Illyrici,  22;  .Ethiopici,  33;  Georgiani,  16; 
Hibernici,  2;  Islandici,  1;  Slavi,  1. 

The  total  of  the  above  manuscripts  amounts  to  40,658.  In  addition 
to  these,  the  Vaticana  possesses  all  the  Codices  of  the  Barberini  Ar- 
chives, which  still  await  proper  arrangement  and  accurate  computa- 
tion. As  these  probably  number  from  8000  to  10,000,  the  collection  of 
manuscripts  in  the  Vatican  Library  amounts,  in  round  numbers,  to 
50,000.  The  Library  formerly  possessed,  in  addition,  a  number  of 
manuscripts  from  the  Fondo  Zelada;  these,  however,  were  restored  to 
Toledo,  while  the  printed  books  of  this  collection  remained  in  the 
Vatican.  All  new  acquisitions  of  a  minor  nature  were,  and  are  still, 
added  to  the  Codices  Vaticani.  This  collection  contains  all  the  manu- 
scripts which  were  acquired  by  the  Library  since  its  restoration  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  will  also  serve  in  future  as  the  depository  for  all 
new  purchases,  presents,  and  so  forth,  one  or  more  new  sections  being 
opened  as  circumstances  require. 

Inasmuch  as  the  world-famous  manuscript  treasures  of  the  Vatican 


De  Luxe  Binding,  showing  the  arms  of  Paul  V 
Borghese   (1605-1621) 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  465 

Library  are  distributed  among  the 
diflerent  fondi,  it  cannot  be  said 
that  this  or  that  division  is  the 
most  important.  So  many  per- 
sonal views  and  interests  must  in- 
fluence one  in  passing  judgment 
on  the  relative  importance  of 
manuscripts  of  different  natures 
that  an  objective  answer  to  this 
question  is  quite  impossible.  All 
these  treasures  are,  as  already 
stated,  preserved  in  the  new  com- 
partments which  are  situated  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
Reading-room. 

Books. — Readers  who  have  fol- 
lowed closely  our  description  so 
far  will  not  expect  to  learn  that 
the  collection  of  printed  books  is 
an  enormous  one.  The  Vatican 
Library  contains  more  than  350,- 
000  printed  books.  There  are,  of  course,  a  large  number  of  libraries 
which  can  show  much  larger  figures,  but  such  libraries  place  at  the  dis- 
posal of  their  readers  all  the  books  contained  in  their  collections.  This 
is  not  the  policy  of  the  Vatican  Library.  As  already  stated,  it  places  at 
the  disposal  of  readers  only  those  works  which  are  of  value  for  the 
study  of  the  manuscripts.  All  other  printed  books  are,  generally  speak- 
ing, reserved  for  the  use  of  the  officials  of  the  Vaticana.  The  reason 
for  this  regulation  has  been  already  mentioned. 

The  two  open  fondi  of  books  are  the  Raccolta  Generate  and  the  Con- 
sulting Library.  All  new  acquisitions  are  assigned  to  the  first  division, 
unless  their  subject  matter  renders  them  suitable  for  the  second — that 
is,  unless  they  are  immediately  connected  with  the  study  of  manu- 
scripts. The  closed  fondi  of  printed  books  are  the  Biblioteca  Barberini, 
Palatina,  Zeladiana,  and  the  Prima  Raccolta.  This  last  division  con- 
tains all  the  books  which  w^ere  acquired  by  the  Vaticana  before  the  year 
1620  or  1630,  approximately.  About  this  date  a  new  division  was 
formed,  the  Raccolta  Generate,  to  receive  all  future  acquisitions.  The 
names  of  the  other  divisions  will  be  easily  understood  from  what  has 
been  already  said. 

An  exact  computation  of  the  books  in  these  collections  has  hitherto 
been  impossible,  nor  is  such  of  any  special  value  in  the  case  of  the  Vati- 


466 


THE  VATICAN 


cana.  The  following  is  a  fairly 
accurate  estimate  of  the  various 
collections:  Prima Raccolta,  10,000 
to  11,000;  Raccolta  Generate,  200,- 
000;  Biblioteca  Palatina,  25,000  to 
30,000;  Biblioteca  Zeladiana,  4000 
to  5000;  Biblioteca  Barberini,  25,- 
000  to  30,000;  Biblioteca  Leonina 
(Consulting  Library),  60,000  to 
70,000. 

While  this  collection  of  printed 
books  is  not  especially  remarkable 
for  mere  nimibers,  the  percentage 
of  rare  and  valuable  works  is 
much  greater  than  is  found  in  any 
other  library  of  such  proportions. 
And  if  readers  desire  to  use  any  of 
the  books  in  the  closed  fondi,  they 
will  find  no  serious  obstacle  in 
their  way.  They  need  only  apply 
to  the  official  in  charge,  who  will 
see  that  the  works  are  delivered  to 
them.  They  themselves  cannot 
take  a  work  from  its  place;  this  is 
permitted  only  in  the  case  of 
books  standing  in  the  Consulta- 
tion Library,  all  of  which  may  be 
taken  down  by  any  reader.  The 
arrangement  of  the  printed  books 
has  undergone  a  complete  change  in  the  last  two  years,  owing  on  the 
one  hand  to  the  great  increase  in  the  room  available  and  on  the  other  to 
the  removal  of  the  manuscripts  from  the  state  rooms  of  the  Library. 
As  more  detailed  information  concerning  the  position  of  the  various 
divisions  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  here,  it  may  be  passed  over. 

Duties  and  Publications  of  the  Library  Staff. — Although  naturally 
the  officials  must  in  the  first  instance  fulfil  their  duties  in  maintaining 
order  in  the  Library,  the  administration  provides  that  a  fair  amount  of 
leisure  be  left  them  for  independent  scientific  studies.  Furthermore, 
they  are  encouraged  in  such  studies  and  the  printing  of  their  works  is 
greatly  facilitated. 

The  most  important  official  work  of  the  Scriptores  is  the  arrange- 
ment, description,  and  cataloguing  of  the  manuscripts  with  a  view  to 


J  -pcriiin  aTTTOTtr 
J  Qifcch  di  b  fu  ui  bai 
iL.KKi.iroi'i.i  ilnioiiOTDC  cftudialorc 
Id.i  ooiii  ciranira  come  c  i.Hcmio 
dnriidn"  ^iinanc  al  nut  dolcic  xiaprc 
VeiTiiatmnoi  I.i UKcdflnicTTOTto  - 
cIk  not  .id  ciT.\  lion  |xnnn  da  noi 

itL         fclta  llOtl  lllCll  C0HttTtTt>T10lHx>  ItlOfOllO 


^ 


r.odex  Urhinas  Latiiuis  'M\7t   i  I'crrarese  School) 
I^rom  the  "Purgatorio"  of  Dante.     The  text   is  a  para- 
phrase of  the  Lord's  Prayer.     In  the  upper  part  of  the 
picture  is  the  "Pardon  of  Trajan" 


THE  ^'ATICAN  LIBRARY  467 

making  the  whole  collection  more 
leatlily  accessible  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible by  printed  inventories.  There 
are  170  volnmes  of  mannscript 
catalognes  dating  from  olden  or 
recent  times;  these  may  be  found 
in  the  working-room  and  are  con- 
veniently accessible  to  every  one. 
Leo  XIII  issued  directions  for  the 
printing  of  these  catalogues;  but, 
inasmuch  as  they  had  to  be  revised 
and  modified  according  to  modern 
principles  and  in  accordance  with 
recent  research  work  on  the  manu- 
scripts, an  almost  completely  new 
and  independent  work  has  re- 
sulted. The  detail  work  on  these 
inventories  and  catalogues  is  very 
tedious,  but  it  is  being  promoted 
vigorously,  and  twenty-two  vol- 
umes have  been  already  issued. 
These  volumes  are  distributed  over  the  various  collections,  so  that 
all  divisions  are  being  dealt  with  simultaneously.  They  are  of 
extraordinary  value  to  those  engaged  in  research  w^ork,  since  they 
enable  a  scholar  to  determine  quietly  at  home  what  is  of  value  to  him; 
then  only,  after  he  has  provided  himself  with  all  the  references,  he 
undertakes  the  journey  to  Rome.  The  books  of  the  Palatina  have  been 
brought  within  the  scope  of  this  cataloguing  because,  in  view  of  their 
origin  in  the  Heidelberg  Library,  they  possess  a  special  interest. 

At  the  command  of  the  Pope,  the  administration  of  the  Vaticana 
entered  some  time  ago  upon  a  gigantic  undertaking  which  is  of  the 
greatest  possible  value  for  the  educated  world.  This  undertaking  con- 
sisted in  the  publication  of  a  de  luxe  phototypical  full-size  reproduc- 
tion of  the  most  important  Codices  of  the  Vaticana,  together  with  a 
description  and  analysis.  These  publications  form  a  series  bearing  the 
following  title:  "Codices  e  Vaticanis  selecti  phototypice  expressi  iussu 
Pii  Papse  X  consilio  et  opera  procuratorum  Bibliothecae  Vaticanae."  In 
this  series  there  is  a  major  and  a  minor  division.  Those  manuscripts 
are  chosen  for  reproduction  which  are  especially  important  on  account 
of  their  venerable  age,  the  importance  of  their  text,  or  their  artistic 
form.  x\s  may  be  easily  understood,  the  cost  of  these  works  is  very 
great,  since  every  page  of  the  manuscripts  has  to  be  reproduced  by 


Bronze  Bust  of  Emperor  John  VIII  Palwologus 

(1421-1U8),   ascribed   to   Philaretes 

) Antonio  Averlino) 


468  THE  VATICAN 

phototypical  processes.  As  a  rule,  only  l)etween  one  hundred  and 
two  hundred  copies  are  published,  but  this  number  seems  to  meet  com- 
pletely the  demand  for  the  works. 

The  most  important  of  these  publications  is  the  reproduction  of  the 
"Codex  Vaticanus"  (to  give  the  manuscript  its  distinctive  title).  By 
this  title  is  understood  in  learned  circles  the  fourth  century  Codex  con- 
taining the  Greek  text  of  the  Old  Testament  according  to  the  work  of 
the  seventy  translators  who  rendered  the  Hebrew  Old  Testament  into 
the  popular  Greek  of  their  day  in  the  third  century  before  Christ.  Such, 
at  least,  is  the  tradition  which  has  come  down  to  us,  but  with  this  tradi- 
tion the  critics  tind  themselves  at  variance.  Avoiding  controversial 
questions,  we  may  say  here  that  the  Codex  Vaticanus  at  least  represents 
the  purest  tradition  of  this  old  Judaic  Greek  translation.  In  the  scien- 
tific system  of  abbreviations,  it  is  known  as  "Codex  B."  This  greatest 
treasure  of  the  Vaticana,  which  has  been  often  edited,  has  been  per- 
fectly reproduced  by  photomechanical  processes  in  three  volumes. 
The  first  volume  contains  pages  1-394,  and  costs  230  lire;  the  second 
volume  includes  pages  395  to  944,  and  costs  320  lire;  the  third  vol- 
ume contains  pages  945-1234,  and  costs  150  lire.  The  total  cost  of  the 
edition  is  thus  700  lire.  In  the  Vatican  Library  this  manuscript  is 
known  as  "Codex  Vaticanus  gr?ecus  1209."  The  Greek  New  Testament 
forms  a  separate  volume,  and  costs  170  lire.  Of  the  major  series  thir- 
teen works  have  been  already  published  in  seventeen  volumes,  and  of 
these  the  first  is  out  of  print.  Two  volumes  of  the  minor  series  have 
already  appeared. 

A  second  collection  of  works  has  been  begun  in  the  "CollezionePaleo- 
grafica  Vaticana,"  of  which  two  parts  have  been  issued.  In  collabora- 
tion with  the  administration  of  the  Museums  and  Galleries,  the  Library 
has  also  undertaken  a  grand  descriptive  series  on  the  art  treasures, 
which  is  appearing  under  the  title:  "Collezioni  Archeologiche,  Artis- 
tiche  e  Numismatiche  dei  Palazzi  Apostolici  pubblicate  per  ordine  di 
Sua  Santita  a  cura  della  Biblioteca  Vaticana,  dei  Musei  e  delle  Galerie 
Pontificie."  The  Numismatic  Collection  (Medagliere  Vaticano),  at- 
tached to  the  Library,  is  described  in  three  illustrated  volumes.  The 
rich  ivory  carvings  included  in  the  antiquities  of  the  Vaticana  are  illus- 
trated, exi)lained,  and  catalogued  in  one  volume,  the  edition  of  which 
has  been  already  exhausted.  The  old  pagan  frescoes  exhibited  in  the 
Library,  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  Aldobrandini  Marriage  and 
Scenes  from  the  Odyssey,  have  been  beautifully  reproduced  in  a  huge 
volume.  All  these,  with  numerous  works  which  cannot  be  mentioned 
here,  show  the  great  activity  of  the  officials  of  the  Vatican  Library. 

Besides  the  above-mentioned  publications,  mention  must  also  be 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY 


469 


The  famous  Fnrncse  Clock,  presented  to  Leo  XIH  on  the  occasion  of  one 
of  his  Jubilees,  and  now  exhibited  in  the  Sistine  Hall 

made  of  a  fomih  series  of  works,  published  by  tlie  Prefect  of  the  Vati- 
cana  himself.  The  title  of  this  series  is:  "Le  piante  maggiori  di  Roma 
del  Secolo  XVI  e  XVII  riprodotte  in  fototipia  a  cura  delta  Biblioteca 
Vaticana  con  introduzione  di  Francesco  Ehrle,  S.J."  This  contains  the 
important  plans  of  the  City  of  Rome,  dating  from  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries.  Among  these,  some  of  the  greatest  rarities  are 
reproduced,  their  value  investigated,  and  the  fate  of  the  originals  estab- 
lished. 

Finally,  we  have  the  last  series  of  the  publications  of  the  Vaticana, 
entitled  "Studi  e  Testi  pubblicati  dagli  scrittori  delta  Biblioteca  Vati- 
cana." Altogether  twenty-five  volumes  have  been  printed,  and  five 
more  are  in  preparation.  This  series  was  instituted  by  Father  Ehrle, 
and  in  it  we  find  the  Scriptores  of  the  Vaticana  represented  by  an 
immense  number  of  researches  and  scientific  treatises  of  the  most 
varied  kind.  Hagiography,  the  culture  of  the  Renaissance,  nunciature 
reports,  Italian  philology,  Biblical  science,  patrology,  religious  drama, 
history  of  literature.  Oriental  science,  chronicles,  art — in  short,  every 
imaginable  subject  is  treated,  according  as  inclination,  a  fortunate  dis- 
covery, or  other  circumstance  suggested  it.  This  series  shows  what 
incentives  come  to  those  engaged  in  the  tiresome  work  of  cataloguing. 


470  THE  VATICAN 

From  this  very  summary  survey  of  the  scientific  work  of  the  officials 
of  the  Vatican  Library  it  will  be  seen  that  under  the  management  of 
Father  Ehrle  there  has  developed  a  brisk  spirit  of  literary  activity  un- 
rivalled in  earlier  times.  There  is  probably  no  library  in  the  world 
whose  officials  have  produced  in  so  comparatively  short  a  period  such 
a  tremendous  amount  of  scientific  work  of  the  highest  quality.  That 
this  claim  can  be  made  for  the  Vatican  shows  that  in  the  Pope's  palace 
true  Science  has  found  a  sanctuary,  and  nowhere  does  she  find  more 
reverence.  It  is,  indeed,  the  greatest  pleasure  of  the  Pope  when,  as  hap- 
pens almost  daily,  some  new  works  of  the  officials  of  his  Library  are 
laid  before  him. 

Halls  of  the  Library.— The  stranger  who  visits  the  Vatican  Library 
enters  at  its  extreme  end,  where  the  entrance  to  the  Museums  also  is. 
The  first  room  contains  pagan  antiquities  of  great  value,  which  are 
referred  to  elsewhere. 

Then  begins  the  suite  of  Library  rooms  proper,  in  which  we  see 
the  low  wooden  presses  with  richly  painted  doors  referred  to  above. 
In  this  second  room  is  an  inscription,  stating  that  in  1.S18  Pius  VII  had 
this  hall  painted  with  events  from  his  life.  A  marble  inscription  recalls 
the  fact  that  Pius  VI  had  the  pillars  which  separated  the  halls  removed 
and  replaced  by  dividing  walls  (1794). 

In  the  seventh  hall  are  scenes  from  the  life  of  Pius  VI,  while  over  the 
two  doors  are  two  large  frescoes.  The  plan  of  the  city  of  Ferrara  and 
a  rather  schematic  picture  of  the  port  of  Civitavecchia  fill  the  panels 
over  the  doors  of  the  eighth  hall;  the  walls  to  the  left  commemorate 
the  zealous  activity  of  Paul  V  for  the  Library,  while  the  wall  to  the 
right  is  decorated  with  scenes  from  the  history  of  the  Library.  Two 
other  paintings  dealing  with  Paul  V,  and  three  paintings  of  Pius  V, 
Sixtus  IV,  and  Nicholas  V  respectively,  proclaim  in  the  ninth  hall  the 
care  of  these  Pontiffs  for  the  Library;  over  the  doors  are  represented 
the  canonizations  of  Charles  Borromeo,  Archbishop  of  Milan,  and 
Frances  of  Rome,  foundress  of  the  Oblates  of  Tor  di  Specchio. 

The  antechaml)ers  of  the  Sistine  Hall,  which  we  now  enter,  are  deco- 
rated with  historical  paintings  and  pictures  dealing  with  local  Rome. 
Descending  a  few  steps  by  the  left,  we  enter  the  celebrated  Library  of 
Sixtus  V.  Numerous  mural  paintings  proclaim  the  achievements  of 
this  great  Pontiff,  who  performed  more  in  a  short  pontificate  of  only 
five  years  than  the  majority  have  performed  in  double  that  period. 
Here  may  be  seen  the  show-cases  of  the  Library,  containing  the  most 
celebrated  and  glorious  Codices  to  which  the  Vatican  Library  can  lay 
claim.  As  a  number  of  these  treasures  have  been  reproduced  in  our 
illustrations,  the  reader  will  be  able  to  form  his  own  idea  of  the  pre- 


THE  VATICAN  LIBRARY  471 

cious  heirlooms  here  shown.  In  this  hall  are  exhibited  no  less  than 
twenty-eight  works  of  art,  which  were  presented  to  the  Popes  in  the 
last  centnry  by  Napoleon  I,  Charles  XII  of  France,  Napoleon  III,  Presi- 
dents MacMahon,  Grevy,  and  Carnot,  Emperors  Nicholas  I  and  Alex- 
ander III  of  Russia,  King  Frederick  William  IV  of  Prussia,  Emperors 
William  I  and  William  11  of  Germany,  Prince  Regent  Leopold  of 
Bavaria,  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  I  of  Austria,  the  City  of  Vienna,  the 
Count  of  Caserta,  Mehemet  Ali,  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  Prince  Demidoff  of 
Russia,  the  Republic  of  Ecuador,  the  dioceses  of  Rheims  and  Clermont, 
Cardinal  Antonelli,  and  the  Catholic  Associations  of  the  City  of  Venice. 
It  may  be  here  mentioned  that  the  other  halls  also  contain  a  vast  num- 
ber of  presents  which  Leo  XI 11  had  here  exhibited  when,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  various  Jubilees,  artistic  gifts  were  presented  to  him  by  the 
whole  world. 

If  we  leave  the  Sistine  Hall  and  return  to  the  long  wing  of  the  palace 
which  we  left  a  short  while  before,  we  enter  the  twelfth  hall,  wherein 
are  exhibited  two  great  frescoes  representing  the  Proclamation  of  St. 
Bonaventure  as  a  Doctor  of  the  Church  and  the  Canonization  of  St. 
Diego  (158cS).  Over  the  windows  are  small  pictures  dealing  with  the 
life  of  Sixtus  V.  The  mural  pictures  of  the  thirteenth  hall  are  extraor- 
dinarily interesting  and  important.  One  of  them  shows  how  the  obe- 
lisk was  erected  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro,  while  the  other  represents 
St.  Peter's  as  Michelangelo  had  conceived  the  building.  Over  the  win- 
dows is  the  continuation  of  the  pictures  of  the  preceding  hall.  An 
inscription  over  the  doors  of  the  fourteenth  hall  states  that  Pope  Pius 
VII  made  alterations  here  in  1818.  The  simple  ornamentation  of  the 
walls  and  ceiling  offers  nothing  of  special  interest.  In  the  middle  of 
the  hall,  howeveV,  stand  tw^o  gigantic  iron  cases  with  large  glass  plates 
under  which  may  be  seen  seven  manuscript  maps  on  huge  sheets  of 
parchment.  These  maps  show  the  state  of  geographical  knowledge  in 
the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  the  most  important  being  that  on 
which  Alexander  VI  marked  the  dividing  line  between  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  possessions  in  America.  Benedict  XIV's  inscription  over  the 
lower  door,  which  leads  to  the  Christian  Museum,  commemorates  the 
founding  in  175(5  of  this  collection  of  archjeological  treasures.  We  then 
pass  through  the  fifteenth  hall,  wdiich  contains  these  treasures,  and  find 
ourselves  in  the  sixteenth  hall,  devoted  to  papyrus  documents;  these 
were  formerly  immured  in  the  walls  behind  glass,  but  are  at  present  in 
the  Manuscript  Clinic  awaiting  repairs.  In  the  middle  stands  a  glorious 
mosaic  table,  and  about  the  walls  are  golden  pieces  of  furniture  cov- 
ered with  green  silk.  The  cupola  is  decorated  with  the  famous  frescoes 
of  Raphael  Mengs.    The  stained  glass  windows  are  no  particular  orna- 


472  THE  VATICAN 

ment  to  this  inspiring  hall,  since  their  coloring  is  not  at  all  in  harmony 
with  the  general  scheme.  An  inscription  records  that  Clement  XIV 
(1769-1774)  began  the  decoration  of  the  room  in  the  year  of  his  death, 
and  that  the  decoration  was  completed  under  Pius  VI  (1775-1799). 
Finally  we  reach  the  seventeenth  hall,  which  formerly  contained  the 
Byzantine  and  other  paintings,  but  whose  shelves  are  now  filled  with 
books.  To  the  right  is  a  smaller  room,  in  which  the  precious  Old 
Roman  frescoes  from  Ostia  (see  pp.  373-374)  are  preserved.  At  the 
very  end  of  the  long  gallery  which  we  have  just  passed  through  lies  the 
Chapel  of  Pius  V,  which  is  not  open  to  visitors. 

This  short  description  gives  only  a  very  rapid  survey  of  the  most 
important  features  of  the  Apostolic  Library  of  the  Vatican.  Sufficient 
has,  however,  been  said  to  show  what  a  tribute  of  gratitude  is  due  to 
the  Pontiffs  for  having,  by  their  zeal  in  fostering  and  managing  this 
great  Library,  contributed  so  greatly  to  the  advancement  of  culture 
and  of  science. 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES 

very  early  times  the  recognized  importance  of  a 
knowledge  of  the  past  led  men  to  perpetuate  current 
events  in  one  form  or  another.  The  events  of  to-day 
belong,  to-morrow,  to  the  past,  and  the  systematic 
collection  of  memorials  of  the  present  best  ensures 
for  the  future  a  knowledge  of  the  past.  Regardless 
of  tlie  persons  by  whom  it  may  be  practised,  this 
preservation  of  current  information  was  and  is 
equivalent  to  the  formation  of  archives — that  is,  collecting-places  for 
documents  of  any  kind  which  have  a  bearing  on  the  making  of  history. 
All  bodies  that  must  render  an  account  of  their  activities  are  com- 
pelled to  preserve  official  documents.  State  authorities  and  rulers,  in 
so  far  as  they  desire  to  ensure  a  well-ordered  administration,  must  duly 
record  the  progress  of  official  business,  and  must  so  regulate  their 
books,  registers,  correspondence,  and  all  other  records  of  importance 
that  they  can  be  referred  to  at  any  time.  This  practice  was  followed 
even  in  gray  antiquity.  And,  with  the  progress  of  the  centuries,  the 
method  of  preserving  archives  was  constantly  improved,  until  finally 
the  present  scientifically  arranged  archives  were  developed  out  of  the 
clumsy  methods  of  the  past. 

At  various  periods  extremely  valuable  reminiscences  of  the  past 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  war,  w^ater,  pure  vandalism,  or  gross  neglect. 
And  the  further  we  seek  to  penetrate  back  into  the  past,  the  scarcer 
are  the  testimonies  which  inform  us  how^  men  then  lived  and  suffered, 
thought  and  acted.  If  we  were  still  in  possession  of  the  most  important 
archives  of  Christian  civilization  in  their  original  completeness  and 
uninterrupted  sequence  of  documents,  the  writing  of  history  to-day 
would  present  an  altogether  different  aspect.  Unfortunately,  however, 
the  original  documents  pertaining  to  the  ages  antecedent  to  the  tenth 
century  of  the  Christian  era  have  been  preserved  only  in  rare  cases 
where  the  conditions  were  especially  favorable.  Copies  of  a  large 
number  of  important  documents  have,  of  course,  been  preserved,  and 
these  are  of  high  value  for  history. 

In  view  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  documents  and  registers  pre- 
served in  the  Archives  of  the  Roman  Curia,  and  in  view  of  the  extensive 

n  473  3 


474  THE  VATICAN 

correspondence  which  the  Popes,  in  virtue  of  their  office,  had  to  main- 
tain with  every  part  of  the  civilized  world  and  even  beyond  its  borders, 
the  Archives  of  the  Holy  See  were  from  the  very  beginning  among  the 
most  important  known  to  history.  From  the  first  they  were  adminis- 
tered with  the  greatest  care,  since  their  contents  were  liable  to  be  re- 
quired at  any  time  in  connection  with  negotiations  of  the  most  diverse 
nature.  But,  just  as  the  Popes  themselves  underwent  extraordinary 
vicissitudes  in  the  early  centuries,  the  fate  of  the  Papal  Archives  was 
likewise  eventful.  Robbery,  fire,  destruction,  pilfering,  and  every 
other  imaginable  misfortune  diminished  the  collections  to  such  an 
extent  that  finally  only  the  documents  and  acts  from  Innocent  III 
(1198-1216)  onwards  were  saved  and  preserved  to  our  day.  Further- 
more, there  are  serious  gaps  in  the  sequence  of  the  documents  and 
registers  which  have  come  down  to  us,  especially  in  the  case  of  those 
referring  to  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries. 

The  Vatican  Secret  Archives  may  thus  be  regarded  as  a  collection 
of  the  documents  and  papers  concerned  with  the  Papacy  which  have 
been  accumulated  during  a  period  of  something  over  seven  hundred 
years.  The  collection  as  it  stands  to-day  does  not  represent  a  unit,  but 
consists  of  man}'  parts  united  at  various  times  and  under  different 
circumstances.  The  Vatican  Secret  Archives  are  not  a  "closed"  archive 
in  the  sense  that  no  additional  materials  will  be  added  to  the  collection 
in  the  future.  Every  year  new  acts  are  committed  to  these  Archives  in 
the  regular  way,  and  from  time  to  time  the  collection  is  further  in- 
creased by  purchases,  presents,  and  legacies.  In  another  sense,  how- 
ever, the  Vatican  Secret  Archives  were  formerly  a  closed  archive,  since 
they  were  not  accessible  for  purposes  of  study  and  historical  research. 
It  was  reserved  for  Leo  XIII  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  all  students  of 
historical  science  by  opening  unconditionally  to  the  whole  world  the 
doors  of  this  most  important  of  all  central  Archives.  "The  Church  fears 
nothing  from  the  publication  of  these  documents,"  said  Leo  when,  on 
June  20,  1879,  he  made  the  announcement  that  he  had  raised  to  the 
cardinalate  Hergenrother,  the  Wiirzburg  historian,  appointed  him 
Archivist  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  and  opened  the  Vatican  Secret 
Archives  to  the  public.  Not  without  serious  misgivings  was  this  de- 
cision received  in  many  ecclesiastical  circles  in  Rome,  where  all  kinds 
of  undesirable  consequences  were  anticipated  as  the  result  of  the 
Pope's  action.  Leo  XIII,  however,  remained  firm  in  his  determination, 
and  refused  to  be  influenced  by  any  representations  of  the  timid.  All 
preparations  were  completed  by  the  beginning  of  1881,  a  suitable  work- 
ing-room prepared,  and  the  necessary  staff  appointed.  The  doors  w^ere 
then  thrown  open,  and  the  scholars  of  the  whole  world  might  enter. 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES  475 


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ttllv  mi^  lusar  aq>iutw.ti<X ft.me.pba  fii«mtj-ai^.  Ani-  tflmin*  ^.niV  lom^pS 

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iil-Oinio  Octjii40.  t?i«XTli. 

Reg.  Vat.  (Innocentii  papjp  III),  Vol.  VII,  fol.  Ixvi  recto,  cap.  214.  containing  the 
first  mention  of  Greenland  in  the  Papal  Registers  (February  13,  1206) 

The  thirteenth  line  from  the  top  begins,  "Grenelandie  episcop.itus."     That  this  is  .1  Solemn  Bull,  signed  by 

the  Pope  and  Cardinals,  is  shown  by  the  date  given  at  the  end  of  the  page,  where  the  Chancellor  of  the  Holy 

Roman  Church  is  mentioned   (cf.  Potthast,  "Regesta  Pontiflcum  Romannrum."  cap.  2686) 


476  THE  VATICAN 

For  some  years  previously  individual  historians  had  been  admitted,  but 
only  by  special  permission  of  the  Pope  in  each  instance.  On  May  1, 
1884,  a  regulation  (regolamenlo)  was  issued,  making  the  new  condi- 
tions permanent.  A  short  time  before,  on  August  18,  1883,  Leo  had 
given  noteworthy  expression  to  his  appreciation  of  the  value  and  im- 
portance of  historical  studies  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Cardinals  Pitra, 
De  Luca,  and  Hergenrother. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  almost  inexhaustible  treasures  of 
the  Vatican  Secret  Archives  were  never  placed  at  the  disposal  of  his- 
torical science  until  the  time  of  Pius  IX.  It  is  true  that  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities  regarded  the  Archives  as  primarily  a  source  of  information 
in  connection  with  their  official  business,  and  the  staff  of  the  Archives 
had  to  answer  in  the  most  exact  and  prompt  manner  all  questions  relat- 
ing to  this  official  business  of  the  Papal  Court.  Even  in  the  volumes  of 
registers  dating  from  the  thirteenth  century  we  find  occasional  refer- 
ences to  documents  which  then  lay  in  the  Archives  but  are  now  lost. 
In  later  centuries  these  references  to  the  ancient  collections  in  the 
Secret  Archives  increased  whenever  earlier  documents,  decisions,  evi- 
dence, etc.,  were  used  in  deciding  legal  disputes  and  other  questions 
referred  to  the  Curia.  Requests  were  also  addressed  to  the  Curia,  asking 
for  copies  of  certain  documents  or  at  least  an  assurance  that  these 
documents  were  really  in  existence.  Such  a  request  was  made  very 
recently  by  Lord  Rothschild  when  he  addressed  himself  to  the  Cardinal 
Secretary  of  State  in  connection  with  the  trial  of  a  Jew  for  ritual  mur- 
der in  Russia.  The  Cardinal  was  asked  to  certify  that  two  papal  decrees 
in  favor  of  the  Jews,  issued  in  the  thirteenth  century,  were  authentic. 
Cardinal  Merry  del  Val  commissioned  the  officials  of  the  Secret  Archives 
to  undertake  the  necessary  investigations,  and  to  lay  before  him  the 
result  of  their  researches.  Having  found  that  the  decrees  were  actually 
contained  in  the  papal  registers,  and  examined  them  personally,  the 
Cardinal  addressed  a  short  letter  to  Lord  Rothschild,  answering  his 
question  in  the  affirmative.  That  this  recent  case  is  but  a  single 
example  of  what  took  place  commonly  in  earlier  centuries,  there  is  an 
abundance  of  evidence  to  prove. 

Consequently,  although  the  Vatican  Secret  Archives  were  founded 
and  administered  as  the  official  archives  of  the  Roman  authorities,  their 
contents  were  even  in  earlier  times  utilized  for  scientific  purposes. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  interest  in  the  writing 
of  history  was  awakened,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, when  heated  theological  and  historical  polemics  broke  out  be- 
tween Catholics  and  Protestants,  Catholic  apologists  could  scarcely 
dispense  with  the  infinitely  rich  materials  contained  in  the  Secret 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES 


477 


Archives.     Nor  were  the  Curial  bodies  oblivious  of  the  necessity  of 
drawing  upon  the  historical  treasures  there  collected. 

We  thus  see  that  in  the  most  celebrated  work  of  this  period,  a  work 
which  enjoys  high  consideration  even  to-day,  the  treasures  of  the 
Archives  were  turned  to  excellent  account.  This  work  is  the  "Annates 
Ecclesiastici"  ("Ecclesiastical  Annals")  of  the  unassuming  Oratorian, 
Caesar  Baronius,  who  afterwards  became  Cardinal,  and  would  have 
become  Pope  had  he  not  energetically  declined  the  honor.  The  twelve 
folio  volumes  of  his  epoch-making  work  appeared  between  1588  and 
1607.  In  1596  he  was  named  Cardinal,  and  in  the  following  year  was 
appointed  Librarian  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church.    Thanks  to  Baronius 


•  f-r-  f' 


Arch.  Arcis  Ariiiur.  I,  caps.  10,  cap.  6 

Lower  part  of  one  of  the  Rouleaux  of  Cluny,  in  which   the  most   important  privileges  of  the  Roman  Church 

were    recapitulated,    and    to   which   the    Pope   and    forty  of  the  Prelates  present  attached  their  seals  at  the 

Council  of  Lyons.     The  small  bulla  of  Innocent  IV  is  seen  in  the  middle,  while  to  the  left  and  right  are  the 

large  wax  seals  of  the  Prelates.     The  document  was   executed  on  July  13,  1215 

and  the  work  of  the  authors  who  continued  his  "Annals,"  the  scientific 
world  was  for  the  first  time  made  fully  acquainted  with  the  great 
importance  of  the  materials  of  the  Vatican  Archives.  The  desire  for 
fuller  information  concerning  the  collections  in  these  central  Archives 
was  thereby  increased,  and  from  every  quarter  were  addressed  ques- 
tions to  the  officials,  requests  for  copies  of  documents,  and  petitions 
for  admission  to  the  collections.  An  almost  endless  list  of  writings  of 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  proves  how  comparatively 
rich  was  the  harvest  reaped  from  the  collections.  The  Archives,  how- 
ever, were  not  yet  placed  unconditionally  at  the  service  of  scholars,  but 
still  remained  a  business  department  of  the  Vatican  administration. 

Divisions  of  the  Archives. — In  the  preceding  paragraphs,  the  term 
"Secret  Archives"  has  been  used  in  speaking  of  times  when  the  Secret 


478  THE  VATICAN 

Archives  of  to-day  were  not  yet  founded.  The  term  offers,  however, 
a  convenient  metliod  of  describing  the  materials  which  were  later  to 
comprise  these  Secret  Archives.  In  earlier  times,  for  example,  many 
of  the  most  important  volumes  of  papal  registers  were  preserved  in 
the  old  library  of  Sixtus  IV  in  the  Cortile  del  Papagallo;  other  volumes 
were  not  yet  in  Rome,  but  in  Avignon,  while  the  rest  of  the  materials 
were  preserved  in  various  places  in  Rome. 

The  first  step  towards  the  foundation  of  the  present  Vatican  Archives, 
topographically  speaking,  was  taken  b}^  Paul  V  when  he  directed  the 
Cardinal  Librarian  Cesi  to  prepare  a  number  of  rooms  in  1611-1613, 
and  in  these  gave  accommodation  to  a  large  quantity  of  archival  mate- 
rials. This  Pope  also  expended  large  sums  in  arranging  the  collections 
and  repairing  damaged  documents.  The  quarters  of  the  Archives  were 
constantly  extended,  and  other  independent  Archives  added:  the 
Archives  of  the  Secretariate  of  State  in  1660;  the  extensive  collections 
from  the  Papal  Archives  at  Avignon,  where  the  Curia  resided  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  at  various  periods  (the  final  portion  in  1783);  the 
Archives  of  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo  in  1798;  the  Archives  of  the  Buon 
Governo  in  1870;  the  Archives  of  the  Dataria  in  1892;  the  Borghese 
Archives  in  1893;  the  Archives  of  the  Congregazione  dei  Memoriali  in 
1905;  the  Archives  dell'Uditore  Santissimo  in  1906;  the  Archives  of  the 
Consistorial  Congregation  in  1907,  and  the  Archives  of  Briefs  in  1909. 

The  oldest  collection  in  the  Archives  was  and  is  still  called  the 
Archivio  Segreto  (Secret  Archives),  and  its  name  has  been  extended 
to  the  whole  department.  Its  materials  are  distributed  in  seventy-four 
armari  or  presses,  as  follows:  the  series  of  the  Vatican  Volumes  of 
Registers,  armari  1-28;  the  Diversa  Cameralia,  or  Financial  Acts,  29- 
30;  the  Collectoria  Camerae  Apostolicae,  or  Series  of  Registers  of  Dona- 
tions, 57;  the  Series  of  Transcripts,  31-37,  46-49,  52-54,  59-61;  the  Reg- 
isters of  Briefs,  38-45;  the  Indices,  50-51,  56,  58;  the  Acts  of  the  Council 
of  Trent  and  various  Acts  relating  to  German  Affairs,  62-64;  the  Reg- 
isters of  Receipts  and  Expenses  of  the  Apostolic  Chamber  (Introitus  et 
Exitus  Camerae  Apostolica?),  65-74;  and  the  valuable  Series  of  Miscella- 
neous Documents  (Instrumenta  Miscellanea). 

All  the  archival  materials  collected  by  the  Popes  from  1305  to  1387 
and  by  the  Anti-Popes  from  1387  to  1417  at  their  seat  in  Avignon,  as 
well  as  the  records  kept  by  the  secular  and  spiritual  administrations 
of  the  County  of  Venaissin  (then  belonging  to  the  Curia),  were  finally 
added  to  the  Secret  Archives  in  1783.  Whatever  financial  acts  were  to  be 
found  in  this  collection  and  in  the  above-mentioned  Archivio  Segreto 
(or  oldest  part  of  the  Archives) — for  example,  the  Introitus  et  Exitus, 
the  Diversa  Cameralia,  the  Obligationes  or  Payments  and  Obligations 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES  479 

of  Prelates,  and  CollectoriiE — were  recently  united  into  one  collection, 
the  systematically  arranged  Archives  of  the  Apostolic  Chamber. 

The  Castle  of  S.  Angelo,  which  was  occupied  by  the  Popes  until  re- 
cent times,  was  the  strongest  fortress  of  the  Papal  States.  It  was  there- 
fore a  prudent  decision  of  Popes  Sixtus  IV  (1471-1484),  Leo  X  (1513- 
1521),  and  Clement  VIII  (1592-1605)  to  deposit  in  this  fortress  for 
surer  protection  all  the  most  important  privileges  and  titles  of  the 
Roman  Church.  It  was  only  in  the  year  1708  that  these  Archives  were 
transferred  to  the  Vatican  Secret  Archives.  They  were  not,  however, 
simply  added  to  the  other  collections,  but  formed  a  special  department 
and  were  placed  under  a  special  management.  These  collections,  known 
as  the  Archives  of  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo,  are  of  the  highest  value. 

The  Archives  of  the  Dalaria  include:  (1 )  the  great  series  of  Registers 
of  Petitions  {Regislra  Siipplicalionum),  beginning  from  the  year  1342; 
(2)  the  Series  of  the  Lateran  Registers  of  Bulls,  extending  from  1398 
to  1823;  and  (3)  the  Registers  of  Briefs  of  the  Dataria,  w  hich  Briefs  are 
different  from  those  just  mentioned.  Many  parts  of  the  Consistorial 
Archives  are  now  in  the  Vatican  Library,  but  the  remainder  of  the  col- 
lection is  to  be  found  in  the  Secret  Archives. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  the  very  great  value  of  the  Registers  of  Briefs 
of  the  Secretariate  of  State  for  the  political,  ecdesiastico-political,  and 
purely  ecclesiastical  history  of  modern  times.  In  these  registers  we 
mav  find  the  legates'  and  nuncios'  reports  from  Germany  (1515-1809), 
France  (1517-1809),  Spain  (1563-1796),  Poland  (1567-^783),  England 
(1565-1689),  Cologne  (1575-1799),  Bavaria  (1786-1808),  and  other 
lands,  with  the  corresponding  answers.  These  reports  of  the  legates 
and  nuncios  were  often  accompanied  by  other  valuable  documents 
and  rare  printed  papers,  which  add  in  no  small  measure  to  the  value 
of  the  Registers.  This  separate  Archive  also  contains  several  series 
of  Letters  and  Petitions,  Memorials,  and  Reports  from  Cardinals, 
Princes,  Bishops,  and  prominent  laymen,  which  are  of  great  historical 
value.  Finally,  a  special  section  contains  the  letters  written  by  the 
field-marshals,  condottieri,  generals,  and  other  officers  in  the  pay  of 
the  Curia.  In  this  collection  of  letters  is  assembled  everything  con- 
cerned with  the  part  played  by  the  Curia  in  the  wars  waged  betw^een 
1572  and  1713.  All  these  and  other  divisions  of  the  Archives  have  been 
zealously  investigated  and  have  afforded  entirely  new  side-lights  espe- 
cially on  the  history  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 

In  the  collection  known  as  the  Varia  Miscellanea  are  found,  first,  all 
the  material  which  could  not  very  well  be  included  in  any  of  the  other 
divisions,  and  also  a  large  number  of  small  collections,  most  of  which 
were  purchased  or  presented  to  the  Archives. 


480  THE  VATICAN 


Papal  Bullae  of  the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Centuries 

From  light  to  left  the  Pontiffs  and  dates  are  as  follows:  Gregory  X,  April  1,  1275;  John  XXII,  February  22, 
1329;  Pius  II,  October  18,  1458;  Clement  IV,  July  27,  1267;  Clement  IV,  April  23,  1265 

The  Congregation  which  had  charge  of  the  tinancial  administration 
of  the  Papal  States  until  1870  was  known  as  the  Congregazione  del 
Buon  Governo.  The  gigantic  Archives  of  this  Congregation,  which 
filled  sixteen  rooms,  were  added  to  the  Secret  Archives  in  1870,  as 
already  stated.  Of  the  other  divisions,  the  Archives  of  the  Borghese 
family,  purchased  by  Leo  XIII,  deserve  particular  mention.  This  is 
really  an  integral  portion  of  the  Archives  of  the  Secretariate  of  State 
for  the  pontificates  of  Clement  VIII  (1592-1605)  Aldobrandini,  Leo  XI 
(1605)  Medici,  and  Paul  V  (1605-1621)  Borghese,  because  under  these 
Popes  the  "Cardinal  nephews,"  or  Secretaries  of  State,  appropriated  to 
themselves  the  entire  official  correspondence  and  bequeathed  it  to  their 
families.  It  was  only  after  this  purchase  by  Leo  XIII  that  the  Holy  See 
recovered  possession  of  its  property.  This  evil  practice  was  followed 
not  merely  by  these  three  Cardinal  nephews,  but  was  likewise  practised 
by  others  at  this  same  period.  Even  nuncios  and  legates  purloined  their 
official  correspondence,  so  that  in  the  publication  of  nuncios'  reports 
extensive  recourse  has  to  be  had  to  private  archives. 

The  Varia  Diplomata,  or  Sundry  Archives  of  Deeds  (derived  mostly 
from  monasteries),  contain  valuable  material  for  investigators  of 
documents  in  general  and  for  students  of  diplomacy  in  particular. 
These  special  Archives  are  not  yet  completely  arranged,  so  that  only 
in  exceptional  cases  is  knowledge  concerning  them  available. 

The  bare  statement  of  the  various  divisions  of  the  Secret  Archives, 
however,  gives  the  reader  no  real  idea  of  their  full  extent;  and  even 
the  description  of  the  collection  as  "the  most  important  of  central 
Archives"  conveys  only  a  remote  suggestion  of  the  vast  quantity  of  ma- 
terials assembled  there.  Some  few  statistics  are  necessary  if  the  reader 
is  to  carry  away  a  conception  that  is  at  once  accurate  and  clear.  It  must 
be  stated  beforehand  that  a  number  of  the  collections  cannot  be 
included  in  these  statistics;  for,  inasmuch  as  no  attempt  has  been  made 


Reverse  of  the  Papal  Bullae  of  the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Centuries, 

given  on  opposite  page 

The  bulla  of  April  2.T,  12(J5,  Is  weather-worn,  and  shows  how  the  string  was  passed  through 

to  put  them  in  order  as  yet,  no  figures  can  be  given  indicative  of  their 
extent.  Although  the  work  of  classification  is  being  pursued  steadily 
and  zealously,  in  view  of  the  limited  staff  employed  in  the  Archives  it 
will  require  several  decades  before  all  the  assembled  materials  will  be 
ready  for  research  work.  The  greatest  of  the  still  uncounted  collec- 
tions is  that  of  the  Buon  Governo,  incorporated  in  the  Archives  in  1870. 

The  chief  collections  preserved  in  the  Archives  are  the  following: 
the  Vatican  Series  of  Registers,  2048  volumes;  Volumes  of  Briefs,  7654; 
Petitions  {Supplicationes),  7011;  Lateran  Series  of  Registers,  2161; 
Varia  Miscellanea,  2051;  Borghese  Archives,  2000.  Total,  22,925.  To 
this  total  must  be  added  48  smaller  divisions,  ranging  from  6  to  968 
volumes  and  containing  in  all  over  12,000  volumes.  There  are  thus,  in 
round  numbers,  35,000  volumes  in  the  collections  already  accessible  for 
research  work.  It  must  be  remembered  that  many  thousands  of  these 
are  large  imperial  folio  volumes,  which  contain  often  several  thousand 
documents,  and  are  thus  extraordinarily  fertile  fields  for  historical  in- 
vestigation. These  volumes  are  of  a  colossal  size  seldom  to  be  seen  in 
any  other  Archives.  Some  of  them  are  so  heavy,  thick,  and  large  that  it 
requires  a  strong  porter  to  carry  one  on  his  shoulder  to  the  student. 
Turning  to  the  contents  of  the  volumes,  we  find  that  the  transactions 
dealt  with  extend  to  the  whole  of  the  then  known  world.  Side  by  side 
with  matters  of  a  purely  local  interest  are  documents  of  the  highest 
importance,  which  concern  perhaps  a  large  empire,  if  not,  indeed,  all 
Christendom.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  form  even  an  approximate  idea 
of  the  number  of  documents  contained  in  these  volumes.  Any  attempt 
at  an  estimate  might  easily  be  millions  wide  of  the  mark. 

In  the  document  cases  and  rolls,  which  contain  loose  papers  and 
parchment  documents,  there  may  be  about  120,000  pieces.  The  writer 
has  had  the  great  majority  of  the  parchment  documents  in  his  hands 


482  THE  VATICAN 

and  examined  them,  and  is  llius  in  a  position  to  state  from  personal 
knowledge  that  many  are  of  the  highest  possible  value. 

Indices  and  Inventories. — In  view  of  the  numerous  subdivisions  of 
each  collection,  how  were  the  scholars,  admitted  into  the  Archives  in 
1881,  able  to  find  their  way  in  the  midst  of  such  vast  collections  of 
materials?  It  is  ([uite  certain  that  for  the  first  few  years  many  scholars 
were  haunted  by  purely  fantastic  ideas  of  the  contents  of  the  Archives, 
and  imagined  that  the  materials  were  much  more  extensive  than  they 
actually  were.  Gradually,  however,  a  more  correct  estimate  prevailed, 
thanks  principally  to  the  progressive  study  of  the  Indices.  At  first 
these  Indices  were  only  rarely  and  reluctantly  placed  at  the  service  of 
students.  But  in  the  last  fifteen  years  their  use  by  readers  has  been 
unrestricted.  It  will  be  necessary  to  inquire  a  little  more  closely  into 
these  scientific  instruments  to  understand  of  what  great  value  they  are, 
and  will  always  be,  for  bringing  to  the  light  the  treasures  stored  away 
in  the  Archives. 

In  the  office  of  the  Assistant  Archivist  stands  a  large  library  of  folio 
volumes,  six  hundred  and  eighty-one  in  number,  all  of  which  have  been 
compiled  in  manuscript  by  the  staff  of  the  Archives  in  the  last  three 
hundred  years.  To  give  a  rapid  sketch  of  even  one  of  the  great  series 
of  Registers  and  Acts,  the  indexer  had  to  take  cognizance  of  the  entire 
contents.  The  contents  had  then  to  be  linked  according  to  certain 
aspects,  so  that  all  matters  of  the  same  nature  could  be  included  under 
the  same  heading.  After  a  searching  investigation,  for  example,  all 
the  proper  names  of  persons  and  places  were  taken  from  many  hun- 
dreds of  volumes;  with  these  names  were  given  the  volume  and  docu- 
ment in  which  they  occurred,  and  also  the  date  of  the  document  in 
every  case.  These  entries  were  written  on  tickets,  and  the  tickets  ar- 
ranged alphabetically  (see  below),  so  that  one  can  in  a  very  sliort  time 
discover  every  recorded  event,  say,  in  the  life  of  a  certain  Bishop  of 
Verona  in  the  thirteenth  century.  These  numerous  Indices  are  worked 
out  in  the  most  various  ways — some  in  detail,  some  along  synoptical 
lines,  some  according  to  the  chief  divisions  of  a  subject,  and  some 
according  to  the  detailed  contents  of  the  separate  documents.  To  save 
scholars  the  necessity  of  continually  repeating  the  same  questions  to 
the  officials,  an  Index  to  the  Indices  was  compiled  in  1901  under  the 
title,  "Inventarium  indicum  in  secretiori  Archivo  Vaticano  unica  serie 
existentium."  With  the  assistance  of  this  guide,  the  reader  may  always 
find  his  bearings  pretty  well  in  the  labyrinth  of  the  Indices. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  numerous  Indices  many  persons  have 
naturally  participated.  Among  the  most  industrious  of  these  workers 
was  Johannes  de  Pretis  (1712-1727),  his  brother  Petrus  Donninus  de 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES 


483 


r  ifatnt^lLTn 


f^ 


Cj«-  Ui^'in.<V»(-Rr-<^f?wt-:  6itfi«vn  A 


r- 


Arch.  Vat.  Armar.  XIV,  caps.  8,  cap.  50 

Letter  of  three  Cardinals  to  King  Charles  of  Sieily,  dated  August  Hi,  ISII!.  In  the  letter  is  inserted  a  Bull  of 
Pope  John  XXII  of  August  15,  1.316,  which  was,  however,  not  executed  on  that  date  because  the  Pope-elect 
refused  to  attach  his  seal  to  any  document  before  his  coronation.     ^"        " 

hang  on  red  silken  strings 


The  three  wax  seals  of  the  Cardinals 


Pretis  (1727-1740),  and  Josepluis  Garampi  (1749-1772).  The  million 
and  a  half  tickets  which  Garampi  prepared  with  his  assistants  are  an 
inexhaustible  mine  for  students  whose  researches  are  concerned  with 
the  period  covered  by  these  workers.  These  tickets  are  pasted  in  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  large  folio  volumes  and  follow  a  strictly 
alphabetical  order.  Before  the  magnitude  of  this  huge  work  one  stands 
astonished,  nor  can  one  quite  understand  how,  within  the  brief  span 
of  one  human  life,  such  a  work  could  have  been  accomplished,  even 
with  some  assistants.  Felix  Contelori  (162G-1G44)  also  worked  very 
industriously  on  the  Inventories  and  Indices,  and  copied  numerous 
documents  which  threatened  to  become  illegible  owing  to  water-rot, 
mold,  decomposition,  or  fading.  But  for  this  work  of  Contelori's, 
many  extant  texts  would  have  been  irretrievably  lost  to  science.  Dom 
Gregorio  Palmieri,  0.  S.  B.,  Assistant  Archivist  of  the  Holy  See,  printed 
a  "Manuductio  ad  Vaticani  Archivi  Regesta,"  the  value  of  which  was 
so  evident  that  the  edition  of  the  guide  was  quickly  exhausted. 


484  THE  VATICAN 

It  must  be  emphasized  here  that  the  Indices  written  in  manuscript 
were  intended,  not  to  assist  scientilic  researches  in  the  Archives,  but 
simply  and  solely  as  administrative  conveniences  to  facilitate  as  much 
as  possible  the  work  of  the  Roman  officials.  We  thus  see  how  un- 
reasonable it  would  be  to  turn  up  our  noses  at  the  gigantic  achieve- 
ments of  the  assistant  archivists,  and  seek  to  deny  their  work  its  special 
scientific  value.  For  their  period  all  these  Inventories  were  works  of 
the  highest  rank,  and  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  no 
other  Archives  could  offer  anything  that  compared  even  distantly  with 
them.  The  modern  card  index  which  is  being  at  present  prepared  for 
the  Instrumenta  Miscellanea  will  be,  from  every  standpoint,  a  model 
for  difficult  works  of  this  class. 

Administration. — The  administration  of  the  Vatican  Secret  Archives 
was  determined  by  Leo  XIII.  A  Cardinal  Archivist  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Church,  with  the  title  of  Prefect,  stands  at  its  head  and  exercises  su- 
preme supervision.  He  settles  all  questions  of  general  administration, 
determines  the  duties  of  the  various  officials,  and  decides  upon  the 
order  to  be  followed  in  making  the  Inventories.  In  all  extraordinary 
questions  connected  with  the  service  in  the  Archives  his  opinion  must 
be  sought,  and  in  all  questions  of  discipline  his  decision  is  final.  In 
individual  instances  he  modifies,  in  favor  of  scholars,  the  rules  laid 
down  by  the  Regolamento.  He  discusses  the  purely  economic  ques- 
tions of  his  department  with  the  Prefect  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces,  and 
sees  that  their  joint  decisions  are  executed.  He  submits  in  person  to 
the  Holy  Father  recommendations  for  the  purchase  of  archival  mate- 
rials, and  receives  his  decision. 

The  Assistant  Archivist  attends  to  the  routine  management,  and  acts 
as  the  representative  of  the  Archives  in  all  dealings  with  readers.  It 
is  his  duty  to  be  present  daily  in  the  Archives  from  8.30  to  12  o'clock 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  information  and  answering  questions.  The 
other  officials  receive  their  orders  from  him  as  to  their  duties  and 
activities.  Two  Custodians  are  in  charge  of  the  Reading-room,  and,  in 
so  far  as  they  are  qualified  to  do  so,  answer  all  inquiries  of  the  readers 
on  scientific  questions.  The  first  Custodian  is  a  distinguished  palae- 
ographer, and  is  head  of  the  School  of  Palaeography,  instituted  by  Leo 
XIII  in  the  Secret  Archives.  Many  very  able  palaeographers  have  gradu- 
ated from  this  school.  Of  all  the  officials,  the  Secretary  of  the  Assistant 
Archivist,  whose  office  is  of  recent  origin,  possesses  the  most  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  Indices  and  Collections.  Too  high  a  value  can 
scarcely  be  set  upon  the  information  which  he  can  give  to  readers. 

Four  ordinary  and  one  honorary  Scrittori  fill  a  double  function. 
They  are,  on  the  one  hand,  engaged  on  work  connected  with  the  Indices, 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES  485 

and,  on  the  other,  prepare  copies  of  documents  for  all  who  apply  for 
them.  They  are  also  given  special  charge  of  certain  divisions  of  the 
Archives,  with  which  they  are  thoroughly  conversant.  The  Archivio 
del  Buon  Governo,  as  it  was  formerly  known,  has  its  own  Custodian, 
but  concerning  his  activity  no  detailed  information  is  procurable.  The 
attendants  are  engaged  partly  in  the  Reading-room,  where  they  learn 
the  wishes  of  readers,  and  partly  in  the  rooms  containing  the  Archives, 
where  they  find  the  documents  or  manuscripts  asked  for. 

The  working  year  extends  from  October  1  to  June  27,  and  the  w^ork- 
ing  hours  are  from  8.30  to  12  o'clock  on  five  days  of  the  week,  Thurs- 
day being  a  holiday.  The  same  ferite  are  observed  in  the  Secret  Ar- 
chives as  in  the  Vatican  Library  (see  page  456).  During  the  summer 
holidays  the  great  annual  cleaning  of  the  halls  takes  place,  and  an  in- 
ventory is  taken  with  a  view  to  determining  whether  any  manuscripts 
are  misplaced  or  missing. 

An  extraordinarily  large  number  of  historians  throng  from  practi- 
cally all  civilized  countries  to  the  Secret  Archives.  On  the  basis  of  his 
knowledge  of  all  the  great  central  archives  of  Europe,  the  writer  can 
declare  that  in  none  will  so  vast  a  crowd  of  scholars  be  met  as  in  the 
Secret  Archives  of  the  Vatican.  The  reason  for  this  lies  in  the  uni- 
versality of  the  materials  collected  in  the  latter  place,  which  have  an 
interest  for  every  historian.  The  halls  of  the  Archives  are  reached  by 
the  door  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  Tower  of  the  Four  Winds.  The  visi- 
tor enters  immediately  the  Reading-room,  adjoining  which  along  the 
court  lie  the  old  reading-room  and  the  office  of  the  Assistant  Archivist. 
Besides  the  extensive  rooms  on  this  ground  floor  devoted  to  the  collec- 
tions, a  large  number  of  rooms  on  the  three  higher  stories  are  given 
over  to  the  same  purpose,  while  the  rooms  high  above  in  the  Torre  dei 
Quattro  Venti,  where  the  old  observatory  was  situated,  have  lately  been 
occupied  by  the  Archives  Administration.  It  was  in  these  last-men- 
tioned halls  that  Gregory  XIII  had  the  preparations  made  for  his  reform 
of  the  calendar.  The  spatial  increase  of  the  Vatican  Archives  would 
appear  to  have  reached  its  limit  with  the  incorporation  of  these  rooms. 
Should  still  more  halls  prove  necessary,  the  already  mooted  proposal 
to  transfer  the  Archives  elsewhere  must  be  adopted,  unless  it  is  decided 
to  separate  the  collections.  Since,  however,  the  Holy  See  has  not  the 
funds  at  its  disposal  to  undertake  great  changes,  things  will  probably 
be  allowed  to  remain  as  they  are  for  the  present.  The  inadequacy  of 
the  rooms,  however,  is  already  beginning  to  make  itself  felt. 

The  reader  is  now  entitled  to  some  details  as  to  how  research  work 
is  carried  on  in  the  Vatican  Secret  Archives.  A  view  of  the  workshop 
of  the  historian  engaged  in  researches  has  always  a  special  interest. 


486  THE  VATICAN 

especially  when  that  workshop  is  located  in  a  palace  so  celebrated  as 
the  Vatican. 

Work  in  the  Archives. — Let  us  suppose  that  we  are  studying  the  his- 
tory of  the  College  of  Cardinals  during  the  fourteenth  century.  We 
have  consulted  all  the  literature  on  our  subject,  but  have  been  unable 
to  discover  any  precise  information  as  to  the  sources  from  wdiich  the 
Cardinals  composing  the  Curia  procured  the  funds  to  support  them- 
selves and  keep  up  an  appearance  in  accordance  with  their  station.  To 
ignore  so  important  a  question  is  impossible;  the  only  alternative  is  to 
have  recourse  to  the  sources  to  find  whether  they  contain  any  exact 
information  concerning  this  financial  question.  An  inquiry  addressed 
to  the  officials  of  the  Archives  brings  us  the  welcome  answer  that  a  small 
collection  of  manuscripts  deal  exclusively  with  this  matter.  We  there- 
upon pack  our  trunks,  proceed  to  Rome,  a  brief  and  simple  request  to 
the  Holy  Father  secures  us  entry  to  the  Archives,  and  we  may  begin  our 
researches  at  once.  Extraordinarily  valuable  materials  here  await  us, 
and  in  a  short  time  we  are  assured  of  being  able  to  treat  this  part  of 
our  work  on  the  fourteenth  century  with  the  greatest  completeness. 

In  distant  Japan  Dr.  Murakami  is  engaged  on  the  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian Missions  in  his  fatherland.  Although  he  has  at  home  a  vast  num- 
ber of  accounts  and  reports,  laws,  decrees  and  decisions,  traditions, 
letters  and  chronicles  on  his  subject,  he  finds  that  the  compilation  of 
these  materials  would  give  only  a  one-sided  picture  of  his  theme.  Until 
he  has  established  organic  connections  with  European,  and  especially 
with  Roman,  sources  his  work  will  be  but  half  accomplished.  Unde- 
terred by  the  long  journey,  he  sets  out  for  Rome,  and  begins  his  inves- 
tigations in  the  Secret  Archives  and  in  the  Archives  of  the  Propaganda. 
Here  he  finds  all  suggestions  and  instructions  sent  to  the  missionaries, 
the  reports  of  the  latter,  the  correspondence  of  the  Curia  with  the 
colonial  powers,  and  much  additional  information,  which  gradually 
corrects  the  partiality  of  his  earlier  views. 

To  attempt  to  write  the  history  of  the  Jews  in  the  Middle  Ages,  or 
even  in  modern  times,  without  considering  the  attitude  of  the  Popes 
and  the  Church  towards  the  Jewish  question  in  general  and  towards 
the  Jewdsh  settlers  in  the  different  lands,  would  be  to  condemn  before- 
hand one's  work  to  incompleteness.  The  Vatican  Secret  Archives  con- 
tain very  important  documents  on  this  question,  and  Moritz  Stern, 
Felix  Vernet,  antl  others  have  attached  special  importance  to  tlie  thor- 
ough investigation  of  these  documents. 

A  large  number  of  American  scholars,  among  wdiom  Professor 
Charles  Homer  Haskins  is  especially  prominent,  have  often  availed 
themselves  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Holy  See  in  connection  wath  their 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES  487 

Arch.  Vat.  Instrum.  Miscellanea  ad  annum  1369,  cap.  7 

Cedula  of  the  Pap.nl  Surgeon,  Magistcr  Robertus  do  Chingalo,  for  his  expenses  in  caring  for  the  needy  sick. 
The  cedula  was  forwarded  to  llie  Camera  Apostolica,  and  was  there  paid   (April,  1369) 

investigations  for  American  liislory  in  particnlar  and  historical  ques- 
tions in  general.  The  searching  report  of  Professor  Haskins,  published 
in  the  "Catholic  University  Bulletin"  in  1897,  is  an  important  historical 
contribution. 

Besides  investigations  arising  from  personal  initiative,  there  are 
others  which  are  inaugurated  by  a  government,  an  historical  society, 
a  diocese,  and  so  forth.  Such  investigations  have  usually  a  well-defined 
object,  and  their  prosecution  is  entrusted  to  some  historian.  The  latter 
travels  to  Rome  with  his  plans  already  made,  and  strives  by  every 
means  in  his  power  to  become  acquainted  with  the  materials  in  the 
Archives  which  are  connected  with  his  work.  If  he  has  friends  or 
acquaintances  in  Rome,  these  initiate  him  into  the  ways  of  the  Archives 
in  so  far  as  their  knowledge  extends.  With  the  assistance  of  the  Secre- 
tary, he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  Indices,  and,  being  led  from  one 
collection  to  another,  is  soon  able  to  declare  with  more  or  less  certainty 
what  divisions  of  the  Archives  contain  matter  pertinent  to  his  studies. 
His  further  progress  then  depends  on  his  industry  and  patience  in 
discovering  what  documents  in  the  volumes  are  of  value  to  him.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  months  he  will  have  acquired  a  sufficient  survey  of 
the  materials  to  reckon  with  a  fair  amount  of  accuracy  how  much  time 
will  be  required  for  the  completion  of  his  task.  If  the  time  and  funds 
at  his  disposal  are  not  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  complete  his  work,  he 
will  at  least  be  able  to  make  some  progress  with  it,  and  will  have 
amassed  exact  information  which  will  be  of  great  value  for  the  guid- 
ance of  subsequent  investigators. 

A  third  method  of  pursuing  historical  investigations  at  the  Vatican 


488 


THE  VATICAN 


Leaden  liulla  of  Pope  Paul  II  Baibo    (14R4-1471), 

carved  like  the  bulla-  of  the  Doges  of  Venice  as 

the  Pope  belonged  to  a  Venetian  family 


Archives  is  by  collaboration.  This 
work  may  be  temporary  or  per- 
manent. We  say  the  work  is  tem- 
porary when  a  commission  of 
scholars  is  dispatched  to  Rome, 
under  a  single  director,  for  one  or 
several  years,  to  perform  definite 
work  in  the  Secret  Archives. 
There  have  been  many  commis- 
sions of  this  kind — for  example, 
that  which  the  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences of  Cracow  sent  to  Rome  to 
investigate  some  special  problems 
of  Polish  history.  That  these 
studies  undertaken  by  collabora- 
tors should  prove  much  more  suc- 
cessful than  those  undertaken  by 
individuals  is  only  to  be  expected. 
Permanent  work  by  collaborators 
is,  of  course,  the  ideal  method  of 
research  work.  According  to  this 
method,  every  discovery  made  by  each  collaborator  is  contributed  to 
the  common  fund,  and  new  members  of  the  circle  derive  full  advan- 
tage from  all  the  facts  established  by  their  predecessors  and  colleagues. 

This  permanent  collaboration  is  carried  on  by  the  various  historical 
societies  which  have  been  founded  for  research  work  in  the  Vatican 
Secret  Archives.  These  institutes  constitute  a  phenomenon  which  can 
be  duplicated  in  no  other  archives  in  the  world.  While  the  foundation 
deeds  of  the  institutes  refer  only  to  the  Vatican  Archives,  it  is  only 
natural  that  the  holidays,  during  which  the  Vatican  Archives  are  closed, 
should  be  devoted  to  other  scientific  investigations  in  Rome  and  Italy. 
Such  investigations  are,  however,  only  a  subsidiary  object,  the  pursuit 
of  which  in  no  way  alters  the  fact  that  these  societies  are  Vatican  insti- 
tutes for  historical  research.  By  this  last  method  of  investigation  much 
time  and  money  can  be  saved,  and  historical  undertakings  planned  of 
such  an  extent  as  could  not  be  dreamed  of  by  individual  scholars.  A 
short  survey  of  the  historical  institutes  and  other  bodies  of  a  similar 
character  will  show  what  astonishing  work  is  performed  in  the  Vatican 
Archives. 

The  effect  of  the  opening  of  the  Archives  upon  Catholic  science  was 
immediately  seen  when  the  Rector  of  the  German  National  Institute  of 
S.  Maria  del  Campo  Santo  Teufonico  near  St.  Peter's  urged  the  German 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES 


489 


Reverse  of  the  Leaden  Bulla  of  Pope  Paul  II, 
with  the  flguies  of  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul 


bishops  to  send  young  priests  to 
his  college  so  that  they  might  be- 
gin investigations  in  the  Secret 
Archives.  He  founded  a  number 
of  chaplaincies  at  Campo  Santo, 
which  are  always  tilled.  The  foun- 
dation of  the  "Romische  Quarlal- 
schrift  fiir  Archiiologie  und  Kir- 
chengeschichte"  placed  an  organ 
at  the  service  of  these  young  his- 
torians. This  plan  of  utilizing  the 
German  National  College  showed 
a  fine  appreciation  of  the  needs  of 
the  day.  The  judicious  extension 
of  the  Library  admirably  fostered 
the  work  which  was  undertaken 
there.  While  the  researches  in- 
augurated do  not  follow  any  uni- 
form plan,  most  of  the  publica- 
tions are  devoted  to  the  Middle 
Ages  and  the  sixteenth  century. 

It  was  only  after  a  long  and  careful  study  of  the  question  from 
every  standpoint  that  the  Gorresgesellschaft  finally  decided  to  establish 
a  special  historical  institute  in  the  Vatican  Archives.  The  moderate 
means  then  at  the  disposal  of  the  society  rendered  this  caution  intel- 
ligible. But  before  the  close  of  the  eighties  it  decided  to  take  this  bold 
step,  and  since  that  time  its  historical  institute  has  been  represented  at 
all  times  by  able  scholars.  With  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  Institutes, 
it  has  undertaken  the  editing  of  the  NunciafureReportsfrom  Germany. 
The  Gorres  Institute  has  engaged  on  a  gigantic  task  of  the  highest  im- 
portance in  its  edition  of  all  the  Acts  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  Twelve 
unusually  stout  quarto  volumes  have  been  planned, of  which  four  have 
already  appeared  and  met  with  a  most  flattering  reception.  Many 
years,  however,  must  elapse  before  the  huge  task  can  be  completed. 
Not  less  in  scope  is  another  work  which  has  for  its  object  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Financial  Acts  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The  two  very 
large  volumes  which  have  been  already  printed  cast  an  entirely  new 
light  on  the  Avignon  Papacy,  and  have  finally  discredited  the  old,  deep- 
rooted  fables  which  were  copied  by  historians  in  general  from  the 
Florentine  Villani.  The  second  volume  treats  with  admirable  clear- 
ness and  fullness  of  court  life  at  the  papal  palace  in  Avignon.  These 
contributions  to  the  social  historv  of  the  fourteenth  century  in  general. 


490  THE  VATICAN 

and  to  the  history  of  the  Papacy  in  particular,  cannot  be  prized  too 
highly.  Besides  the  volumes  dealing  with  the  Nunciature  Reports  from 
Germany,  the  Gorresgesellschaft  has  published  a  large  number  of  vol- 
umes of  its  "Quellen  und  Forschungen,"  each  of  which  is  independent 
of  the  others  and  has  no  connection  with  the  more  extensive  undertak- 
ings of  this  society.  It  has  recently  published  a  series  of  volumes  deal- 
ing with  the  intervention  of  the  Teutonic  Order  in  the  Italian  wars  of 
the  fourteenth  century.  No  other  private  society  has  displayed  an 
activity  at  all  comparable  to  that  of  the  Gorresgesellschaft,  whose  suc- 
cess is  universally  recognized. 

The  Austrian  Leogesellschaft  lends  its  collaboration  in  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Financial  Acts  of  the  fourteenth  century,  to  which  reference 
has  been  made  above.  But,  although  it  frequently  appoints  individual 
scholars  to  work  for  a  few  years  in  Rome,  it  maintains  no  regular 
institute  in  that  city. 

The  same  remark  holds  true  of  the  English  Government,  in  so  far  as 
the  maintenance  of  a  state-aided  institute  for  research  work  in  the 
Archives  is  concerned.  England  has  not  established  any  regular  his- 
torical institute,  apparently  because  broadly  planned  historical  re- 
searches and  treatises  find  less  favor  in  that  country  than  in  any  other 
country  of  Europe.  For  the  most  part,  English  investigations  are 
undertaken  merely  to  supplement  the  native  sources  and  only  wdth  a 
view  to  delineating  historical  characters  as  clearly  as  possible.  Docu- 
ments, as  such,  have  no  interest  for  the  Governors  of  the  Public  Record 
Office,  who  use  only  short  excerpts  in  English  to  suit  the  convenience 
of  a  public  interested  in  genealogy.  The  tasks  entrusted  to  the  English 
scholars  are,  from  the  scientific  standpoint,  of  so  exceedingly  modest 
a  nature  that  many  of  these  workers  have  bitterly  complained  of  this 
kind  of  hod-carrying.  They  would  gladly  have  joined  in  the  scientific 
rivalry  of  the  nations,  but  they  might  not.  Owing  to  the  cramping 
commission  given  them  by  the  English  Government,  they  play  a  very 
subordinate  role  in  the  investigation  of  those  problems  of  medieval 
ecclesiastical  and  civil  life  which  possess  such  an  absorbing  interest  for 
all  who  work  in  the  Secret  Archives. 

Through  the  special  favor  of  Pius  IX,  Rev.  Joseph  Stephenson,  a 
High  Anglican  commissioned  by  the  English  Government,  was  allowed 
to  make  copies  of  documents  in  the  Archives  which  were  connected 
with  the  relations  of  England  with  the  Curia.  After  this  scholar  had 
become  a  Catholic  and  was  appointed  Scrittore  in  the  Vaticana,  he  laid 
his  resignation  in  the  hands  of  Sir  Thomas  Hardy,  who,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Cardinal  Manning,  appointed  William  H.  Bliss,  an  Oxford  con- 
vert, to  succeed  him.    The  latter  continued  his  work  until  1909,  but. 


THE  VATICAN  SF.CRET  ARCHIVES  491 


>w 


Hfg.  Alex.  VI,  Tom.  775,  fol.  43  recto 

First  mention  of  the  Discovery  of  America  in  the  Papal  Registers   (June  25,  149.3).     In  the  eleventh  line 

from  the  top  we  read:  "Crhistoforum  Colon" — Crh  being  a  mistake  for  Chr 


492  THE  VATICAN 

even  though  he  was  given  younger  men  to  assist  him  in  completing 
his  task  more  quickly,  there  was  no  question  of  founding  a  regular 
historical  institute.  Any  scientific  treatment  of  the  material,  even  in 
the  most  modest  way,  was  expressly  forbidden,  and  was  thus  not 
attempted.  The  large  volumes,  consisting  of  excerpts  from  documents, 
are  provided  with  a  brief  introduction  in  London,  and  then  published 
absolutely  without  comment.  From  time  to  time  the  London  Board, 
in  its  "Annual  Reports  of  the  Deputy  Keeper  of  the  Public  Records," 
gives  information  of  the  progress  of  the  researches  in  Rome.  P'rom 
this  source  we  learn  that  Acts  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies were  also  copied  at  Rome,  and  were  published  in  the  Calendars 
of  State  Papers.  While  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  English  Govern- 
ment has  not  instituted  investigations  on  a  broader  and  more  scientific 
scale  in  the  Secret  Archives,  we  may  be  thankful  that  so  much  material 
has  been  made  accessible  to  investigators  in  English,  if  not  in  the  orig- 
inal Latin. 

The  Ecole  Francaise  de  Rome  was  founded  in  1873  in  connection 
with  the  French  Archaeological  Institute  in  Athens,  and  soon  extended 
its  activities  also  to  Naples,  where  the  study  of  the  registers  of  the 
Angevin  dynasty  was  undertaken.  A  member  of  the  Ecole  Francaise 
may  perhaps  have  worked  in  the  Secret  Archives  before  they  were 
opened  to  the  public,  and  begun  the  glorious  undertaking  which  is  not 
yet  completed — namely,  the  editing  of  the  volumes  of  Papal  Regis- 
ters of  the  thirteenth  century,  beginning  from  1216.  The  mode  of 
publishing  the  extant  registers  is  as  follows:  the  most  important  docu- 
ments are  published  complete,  but  only  excerpts  of  the  less  important 
are  given,  the  original  Latin  being  employed  in  both  cases.  This 
method  naturally  leaves  much  to  the  discretion — often  to  the  arbi- 
trariness— of  the  individual.  Documents  dealing  with  French  matters 
are  given  a  marked  preference,  even  when  no  real,  intrinsic  reason 
for  this  is  apparent.  No  rigid,  uniform  treatment  of  the  volumes  is 
in  evidence,  one  editor  adhering  to  one  plan  and  a  second  to  another. 
The  standpoints  of  various  editors  are  often  quite  different,  and  even 
the  typographical  arrangement  varies  greatly.  The  delay  between  the 
appearance  of  successive  parts  is  a  great  trial  for  both  individual  sub- 
scribers and  libraries,  a  large  number  of  works  having  been  begun 
which,  failing  an  index,  are  of  real  value  only  to  very  few.  Those 
persons  alone  who  are  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  original  registers 
can  turn  these  fragments  to  account,  and  those  only  with  great  loss  of 
time.  When  all  the  pontificates  are  finally  completed,  the  question 
may  perhaps  be  seriously  raised  whether  the  whole  work  should  not 
be  begun  all  over  again  on  a  different  basis  and  with  a  fixed  and  uni- 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES 


493 


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494  THE  VATICAN 

form  plan.  However,  in  spite  of  their  undeniable  defects,  the  volnmes 
already  issued  have  done  much  to  elucidate  the  history  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  The  gigantic  undertaking  of  the  Ecole  Fran^aise  will 
be  given  for  all  future  time  a  place  of  honor  among  the  sources  of  the 
thirteenth  century. 

The  social  conditions  during  the  Renaissance  era  have  received 
special  attention  from  the  young  scholars  of  the  French  Institute,  as 
their  published  works  prove.  Special  mention  must  be  made  of  a 
monumental  work  published  by  Monsignor  Duchesne  during  his  early 
years  in  the  Ecole  F'rancaise,  when  he  was  Director  of  the  Institute. 
This  work  is  the  celebrated  "Liber  Pontificalis,"  the  authentic  source 
for  the  history  of  the  Popes  in  Christian  antiquity  and  in  the  early 
Middle  Ages.  Mention  must  also  be  made  of  the  "Liber  Censuum,"  the 
great  rent-book  of  the  Roman  Church,  which  received  its  definitive 
form  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  and  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury. Paul  Fabre  had  prepared  this  for  press  and  was  engaged  on  its 
publication  when  death  overtook  him.  His  friend  Duchesne  then  con- 
tinued the  task  and  completed  it. 

In  the  periodical  of  the  French  Institute,  entitled  "Melanges  d'arche- 
ologie  et  d'histoire,"  are  published  all  the  lesser  works  of  its  members, 
including  many  treatises  on  archaeology  and  the  history  of  art.  The 
seat  of  the  Ecole  is  in  the  ambassadorial  palace,  the  Palazzo  Farnese, 
which  has  been  for  some  time  the  property  of  the  French  nation.  Its 
library  is  very  extensive  and  well  arranged. 

In  speaking  of  the  societies  formed  to  turn  to  advantage  the  treasures 
of  the  Secret  Archives,  we  should  have  mentioned  also  the  Chaplains 
of  St-Louis-des-Francais.  The  reason  for  our  failure  to  mention  them 
above  was  because  their  activity  is  more  appropriately  treated  in  con- 
nection with  the  Ecole  Francaise,  wath  which  they  have  become  in  a 
certain  manner  affiliated.  They  have  undertaken  a  comprehensive  and 
highly  important  w^ork,  with  which  they  have  already  made  very  grati- 
fying progress,  namely,  the  editing  of  excerpts  from  all  the  fourteenth- 
century  documents  contained  in  the  volumes  of  Avignon  Registers. 
This  series  appears  in  connection  with  the  editions  of  the  Registers 
published  bv  the  Ecole  Francaise,  and  the  editing  of  the  documents  of 
.John  XXII  a316-L334)  is  already  far  advanced.  Unfortunately,  the 
special  periodical  of  the  French  Institute,  "Annales  de  St-Louis-des- 
F'ran^-ais,"  has  been  discontinued.  Many  of  the  works  of  the  Chaplains, 
based  upon  Vatican  materials,  are  of  a  high  importance  for  the  history 
of  the  Avignon  Papacy.  With  the  further  development  of  scientific 
studies,  it  may  perhaps  be  possible  to  revive  their  special  periodical. 
Another  plan  has  been  promoted  by  private  persons  to  afford  Catholic 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES 


495 


Arcli.  Vat.  Instrum.  Miscell.  ad  annos  1466  sqq. 

Bull  of  Pope  Clempnt  XI  of  September  17,  1707,  in  the  not  yet  exaggerated  script  called  "Scrittura  Rollatica." 

The  leaden  seal  hangs  on  a  yellowish  white  silken  string.     The  document  is  addressed  to 

Magister  Tranciscus  Colunma,  jurist  of  the  two  Signature 

French  scholars  an  opportunity  to  study  in  the  Secret  Archives,  but  it 
has  not  yet  been  sufficiently  developed  to  merit  mention  here. 

From  small  and  modest  beginnings  the  Prussian  Historical  Institute 
has  now  reached  such  a  stage  of  development  that  it  can  compete 
successfully  with  any  other.  The  plan  to  found  this  institution  was 
first  conceived  in  1883,  but  it  was  only  in  1888  that  the  tirst  Prussian 
"Station,"  as  it  was  then  called,  could  be  opened.  In  the  following  year 
.the  writer  became  one  of  the  collaborators  of  this  Station,  and  he 
remembers  well  how  exceedingly  modest  were  its  pretensions  in  its 
infancy.  Since  that  time  the  Station  has  grown  into  the  Prussian  Insti- 
tute, which  was  fundamentally  reorganized  in  1902  and  thereafter 
showed  constant  development.  Its  most  important  undertakings  are 
the  series  of  Nunciature  Reports  from  Germany,  the  elucidation  of 
Prussian  relations  with  the  Curia  in  a  series  of  works  dealing  with 
Curial  administration  and  kindred  subjects,  and  the  collection  of  Ger- 
man sources  in  the  "Repertorium  Germanicum."  From  the  Institute 
have  also  issued  individual  works  of  importance  which  cannot  be 
included  in  any  of  the  above-mentioned  series.  In  Rome,  or  even  in 
all  Italy,  there  is  no  library  which  can  compare  with  that  of  the  Prus- 
sian Institute  as  a  complete  collection  of  all  works  dealing  with  a 
special  department.  Absolute  completeness  is  aimed  at  for  all  the 
important  territories  investigated  by  the  Institute,  and,  in  consequence 


496  THE  VATICAN 

of  the  liberal  funds  at  its  disposal,  it  may  well  happen  that  within  ten 

years  it  will  be  the  most  important  and  best  special  library  in  the  world. 

The  organ  of  the  Institute  is  entitled  "Quellen  und  Forschungen  aus 
italienischen  Archiven,"  and  contains  once  annually  a  highly  valued 
bibliographical  survey  of  all  pertinent  literature  which  has  appeared 
in  book  form  or  in  periodicals  during  the  year.  In  recent  times  the 
Institute  has  extended  its  studies  to  Naples  and  Simancas  (Spain),  just 
as  it  had  previously  extended  its  investigations  to  central  and  northern 
Italy.  In  collaboration  with  the  Istituto  Storico  Italiano  it  publishes 
the  "Registrum  Chartarum  Italiae,"  of  which  eight  volumes  have  al- 
ready appeared.  Only  the  briefest  mention  can  be  made  of  the  exten- 
sive department  of  the  Institute  which  is  devoted  to  art  researches,  and 
wdiich  possesses  a  splendid  equipment  of  photographs,  plates,  and 
editions  de  luxe,  besides  a  valuable  library. 

Since  1904  Belgium  also  has  had  an  historical  institute  in  Rome — the 
Institut  Historique  Beige  a  Rome.  According  to  its  charter,  the  Institute 
is  to  devote  itself,  first,  to  the  study  of  all  materials  connected  with 
Belgium  in  the  Vatican  Secret  Archives,  and,  secondly,  to  materials 
elsewhere  in  Rome  and  in  Italy  in  general.  The  Institute  is  also  to 
serve  as  the  centre  for  all  historians  coming  to  Rome,  to  whom  it  is  to 
extend  assistance,  both  actively  and  by  its  advice.  Since  its  activity 
is  confined  strictly  to  the  history  of  Belgium,  the  formation  of  a  library 
is  easier,  inasmuch  as  it  is  necessary  to  collect  only  those  works  on 
Belgian  history  which  are  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  Rome.  Need- 
less to  say,  the  library  also  contains  those  works  of  a  general  character 
which  are  the  daily  tools  of  the  historian.  If,  sometime  in  the  future, 
the  additional  plan  should  be  realized  of  developing  the  Institute  into 
an  Ecole  des  Hautes  Etudes,  in  which  secular  and  ecclesiastical  history, 
classical  philology,  archaeology,  and  art  history  would  be  studied,  the 
library  would  naturally  have  to  be  put  on  an  entirely  different  footing. 
Of  the  "Analecta  Vaticano-Belgica,"  in  which  the  Institute  publishes 
the  results  of  its  studies,  many  fine  volumes  have  been  already  issued, 
and  others  are  in  the  press. 

Of  similar  character  to  the  above  is  the  Dutch  Historical  Institute, 
founded  in  1906  and  devoted  exclusively  to  the  investigation  of  male- 
rials  dealing  with  Holland.  This  Institute  is  not  immediately  con- 
cerned with  the  publication  of  documents,  but  with  researches  to  deter- 
mine exactly  what  documents  pertaining  to  Holland  are  in  existence. 
Three  great  catalogues  of  Dutch  materials  have  been  already  issued, 
and  these  publications  will  be  continued  until  an  exhaustive  list  has 
been  completed.  On  the  basis  of  these  extraordinarily  careful  surveys, 
it  will  then  be  easy  to  decide  what  materials  should  be  edited  and  pub- 


THE  VATICAN  SECRET  ARCHIVES  497 

lished.  The  same  work  has  been  undertaken  in  connection  with  Dutch 
art,  of  which  so  many  roots  extend  into  Italy.  This  programme  of  the 
Dutch  Institute  is  an  unusually  practical  one,  although  it  is  not  con- 
cerned immediately  with  the  publication  of  documents. 

The  liberality  of  the  Hungarian  Canon,  Monsignor  Fraknoi,  made 
it  possible  to  found  in  1892  the  Hungaricorum  Historicorum  Colle- 
gium Romanum.  Although  this  college  was  discontinued  some  years 
ago,  it  has  left  behind  important  traces  of  its  existence  in  the  "Monu- 
menta  Vaticana  historiam  regni  Hungarise  illustrantia,"  of  which  ten 
folio  volumes  were  issued. 

The  Austrian  Historical  Institute  had  for  its  founder  no  less  a  per- 
sonage than  Theodor  von  Sickel.  It  was  founded  in  1883,  and  its  chief 
object  is  to  enable  a  larger  number  of  young  historians  to  study  for  a 
short  term  in  Rome.  A  number  of  the  members  have,  however,  dwelt 
some  years  in  Rome,  performing  the  Institute's  share  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  Nunciature  Reports  from  Germany,  of  which  a  large  num- 
ber of  volumes  are  already  available.  Sickel's  studies  on  the  "Privi- 
legium  Ottonianum,"  his  edition  of  the  "Liber  Diurnus,"  which  created 
a  sensation  in  historical  circles,  and  his  important  Roman  Reports, 
together  w  ith  the  works  of  Tangl,  Ottenthal,  and  others,  won  for  the 
Institute  a  high  position  among  the  historical  bodies  of  Rome.  The 
Rohemian  historical  commissions,  which  often  visit  Rome,  always 
receive  efficient  support  from  the  Austrian  Institute. 

In  the  preceding  sketch  only  a  very  hurried  consideration  could  be 
given  to  the  chief  points  which  must  be  reviewed  in  appraising  the  im- 
portance of  the  Vatican  Archives.  Sufficient  has  been  said,  however,  to 
give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  importance  of  Leo  XIH's  ever-memora- 
h\e  act  in  opening  these  Archives  to  the  public.  The  scientific  har- 
vest of  thirty-three  years'  researches  in  the  Archives  has  been  glorious, 
and,  now  that  an  ex'act  knowledge  of  the  collections  has  been  secured, 
the  future  harvests  will  be  still  richer. 


THE  MOSAIC  FACTORY 

liiE  word  "mosaic"  is  derived  from  the  Greek  word 
Mouoa,  as  it  was  said  that  the  Muses  were  the  inventors 
of  the  mosaic  art.  Mosaic-making  is  undoubtedly 
a  very  ancient  art,  and  was  practised  in  the  Orient  and 
among  the  Egyptians,  who  employed  it  in  the  decora- 
lion  of  their  mummies.  The  Greeks  also  used  mo- 
l%'t>^T^^'^^JI  ^^'^s  iri  their  temples,  while  Demetrius  Falerius  and 
^^imrn'o^j^iiiAimSiiM  Hieron  II  were  the  first  to  adorn  their  palaces  in 
Athens  and  Syracuse  with  mosaics.  Mosaics  were  used  also  on  the  floors 
of  the  houses  in  Greece,  for  which  purpose,  on  account  of  their  solidity, 
they  were  well  suited.  Among  the  Romans  the  mosaic  art  was  a  com- 
paratively late  development,  since  they  borrowed  the  fine  arts  from 
Greece.  Sulla  introduced  mosaic  work  into  Rome  to  adorn  the  Temple 
of  Fortune  at  Prseneste,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  art  became  par- 
ticularly popular  in  Rome,  where  it  found  such  favor  that  the  military 
commanders,  including  Csesar,  had  portable  mosaics  to  serve  as  floors 
for  their  tents  while  on  their  campaigns.  Among  the  most  beautiful 
mosaics  of  ancient  times  may  be  mentioned  the  Greek  Cross  mosaic  of 
the  Pio-Clementino  Museum,  and  the  Doves  of  the  Capitol,  generally 
known  as  Pliny's  Mosaic,  because  Pliny,  in  his  "Historia  Naturalis" 
(1.  XXXVI,  c.  Ix),  speaks  of  such  a  mosaic  as  having  been  executed  at 
Pergamos.  Thus,  the  Capitoline  treasure,  found  at  Hadrian's  Villa  near 
Tivoli,  is  perhaps  a  copy  of  the  Pergamos  mosaic.  Famous  also  are  the 
mosaic  of  Palestrina  and,  finally,  the  most  beautiful  specimen  found 
in  the  Casa  del  Fauno  at  Pompeii,  showing  a  battle  scene  with  fifteen 
horsemen,  twenty-six  warriors,  and  a  chariot  bearing  a  figure  said  by 
some  to  be  that  of  Darius.  So  much  did  the  Romans  love  mosaics  that 
they  used  them  to  adorn  not  only  their  floors  but  also  the  vaults  of  their 
banquet-halls  and  the  external  walls  of  their  dwellings.  The  scenes  in 
these  mosaics  w^ere  taken  from  real  life,  and  were  generally  framed  by 
an  arabesque  or  Greek  scroll. 

In  the  Christian  era  mosaics  were  employed  to  represent  sacred 
images.  The  most  beautiful  ancient  specimens  are  found  in  Rome 
and  at  Ravenna  in  the  Mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia  and  S.  Apollinare 
Nuovo,  an  Arian  temple  changed  by  Archbishop  Agnellus  into  a  Chris- 

1:499:] 


THE  VATICAN 


The  Entrance  to  the  Mosaic  l-actory 


The  Sample  Room  where  the  Enamels  are  kept 


tian  church.  Mosaic  ornaments  were  used  in  the  Catacombs  also:  in 
the  Chigi  Gallery  is  preserved  a  portrait  found  in  the  Catacomb  of 
Cyriacus,  which  De  Rossi  declared  to  be  a  fourth-century  work.  In  the 
Mausoleum  of  S.  Costanza  are  some  mosaics  dating  from  the  Con- 
stantinian  era,  while  that  in  the  apse  of  S.  Pudenziano  is  said  by  De 
Rossi  to  date  also  from  the  fourth  century.  Following  the  Byzantine 
custom,  these  mosaics  often  have  a  gold  background  and  a  blue  tint; 
sometimes  the  figures  themselves  are  laden  with  gilding.  While  the 
mosaics  were  inspired  by  the  Christian  faith,  both  their  art  and  tech- 
nique were  decadent.  Instead  of  studying  true  proportions,  the  mosaic 
workers  endeavored  to  compensate  with  an  abundance  of  gold  for 
errors  of  drawing.  Among  the  first  cultivators  of  the  mosaic  art,  which 
together  with  painting  began  about  this  period  to  undergo  a  favorable 
change,  we  may  mention  the  Florentine  Andrea  Tafi,  who  in  1200  de- 
voted himself  to  the  study  of  the  composition  of  the  enamels  used  in 
mosaic  work,  and  adorned  with  his  mosaics  the  Church  of  S.  Giovanni 
at  Florence.  Thanks  to  Florentine  artists,  the  mosaic  art  now  took  on 
a  new  life.  Cimabue  practised  it  in  the  apse  of  the  Cathedral  at  Pisa, 
for  which  he  made  a  mosaic  of  the  Saviour  against  a  background  of 
gold.  Giotto,  his  pupil,  busied  himself  greatly  with  this  art:  of  his 
many  works  it  will  be  sufficient  to  mention  here  his  famous  Bark  of 
St.  Peter,  made  for  the  Vatican  Basilica.  Encouraged  by  the  wealthy, 
and  especially  by  the  Popes,  workers  then  began  to  copy  pictures,  and 
we  find  the  Venetian  painters  executing  their  very  best  works  to  be 
copied  in  mosaic.  And  so,  with  increasing  perfection,  the  mosaic  work- 
ers reached  a  state  of  development  where  their  works  may  compare 
with  the  masterpieces  of  painting. 

In  1586  Pope  Sixtus  V  founded  the  mosaic  factory  of  the  Vatican, 
and  set  its  artists  to  prepare  mosaics  for  the  walls  and  ceiling  of  St. 
Peter's.  The  original  site  of  the  factory  was  near  St.  Martha's,  beside 
St.  Peter's,  where  the  street  is  still  known  as  the  Via  del  Musaico.    Exi- 


THE  MOSAIC  FACTORY 


501 


A  Mosaic  Artist  at  Work 


The  Collection  of  Mosuic  Works 

gencies  of  space  necessitated  successive  changes  of  location,  and  the 
factory  was  removed  first  to  rooms  in  the  Palace  of  the  Holy  Office,  and 
then  to  the  Palazzo  Giraud  (now  the  Torlonia)  in  the  Piazza  Scossa- 
cavalli.  Finally,  in  1825,  worthy  quarters  were  found  for  it  in  the  Vati- 
can itself  by  Pope  Leo  XII. 

Persons  who  have  never  seen  a  mosaic  made  find  it  difficult  to  imag- 
ine how  with  small  bits  of  colored  enamel  the  most  valuable  paintings 
may  be  exactly  copied.  The  mosaic  worker,  who  decorates  tabernacles 
and  niches  with  his  composition,  does  an  accurate  and  patient  work, 
which  attains  the  level  of  an  art,  because  he  uses  his  enamels  just  as 
the  painter  does  his  brush.  Mosaic  work  is  of  two  kinds:  (1)  work 
executed  with  enamel  cubes,  which  are  used  in  the  case  of  all  large 
decorative  work;  and  (2)  work  executed  with  enamel  threads,  which 
are  used  for  finer  work.  With  these  threads  the  most  beautiful  and 
modern  works  may  be  executed.  How  different  are  these  works  from 
the  work  of  the  Quattrocentesti,  admirable  as  that  work  was!  If  you 
look  around  in  the  factory,  you  see  works  representing  garlands  of 
flowers  in  which  every  shade  of  color  is  caught,  together  with  the 
vivacity,  grace  and  softness  of  flowers  fresh  from  the  garden.  You  see 
hunting  scenes  with  animals  represented  to  perfection;  the  mosaics 
lend  themselves  to  every  shape  and  movement  in  the  scene,  imitating 
the  mottled  coat  of  a  hound  and  the  bristles  of  a  boar.  Besides  scenes 
such  as  these,  which  are  fit  to  adorn  the  drawing-room  of  the  most 
exacting  connoisseur,  there  are  copies  of  the  most  famous  paintings, 
each  of  which  represents  the  work,  not  of  months,  but  of  many  years. 

On  entering  the  factory,  the  visitor  first  meets  the  sample-room, 
where  the  number  of  tints  will  undoubtedly  awaken  his  astonishment. 
As  many  as  twenty-eight  thousand  gradations  of  color  are  here  to  be 
found,  and  each  sample  has  a  number  corresponding  to  a  shelf  where 
the  worker  can  immediately  find  a  supply  of  the  particular  shade  he 

seeks. 

The  second  room  contains  all  the  best  mosaics  in  enamel  cubes  re- 


502 


THE  VATICAN 


The  I-urnace  for  the  Fusion  of  the  Enamels 


The  Manufacture  of  Enamel  Threads 


cently  made,  as  well  as  painted  copies  of  all  other  mosaic  works  hereto- 
fore executed.  This  well-arranged  collection  is  well  worth  seeing.  It 
contains,  for  instance,  a  copy  of  II  Guercino's  Ecce  Homo  and  Guido 
Reni's  St.  Peter;  these  are  the  artistic  gems  of  the  collection,  and  are  so 
perfect  that  they  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  the  originals.  There 
are,  besides,  very  fine  portraits  of  the  Popes,  images  of  saints.  Madon- 
nas, and  artistic  works  of  every  kind,  from  sacred  subjects  to  reproduc- 
tions of  flowers  and  fruits. 

From  the  second  gallery  the  visitor  enters  the  workroom  where  the 
artists  are  busy.  Around  the  walls  are  the  shelves  containing  the 
enamels.  Each  worker  has  his  original  before  him,  and  he  builds  up 
his  picture  piece  by  piece,  chipping  the  enamel  to  the  proper  size  and 
then  passing  it  over  a  lathe  to  bring  it  to  the  desired  shape.  First  of 
all  a  bed  of  plaster  is  prepared  and  put  in  an  iron  frame.  The  outlines 
of  the  picture  are  then  drawn  on  this  plaster.  Piece  by  piece  the  plaster 
is  removed  and  replaced  by  a  layer  of  stucco  (a  mixture  of  lime,  mar- 
ble dust  and  the  dregs  of  flaxseed  oil).  The  worker  next  breaks  the 
enamel  with  a  tiny  hammer,  reduces  it  to  the  proper  shape  on  the  lathe, 
and  iixes  it  in  its  place  in  the  stucco,  which,  drying  rapidly,  holds  the 
enamel  firmly  in  its  place.  Only  then  is  another  piece  of  the  plaster 
removed,  because  the  stucco  must  be  always  fresh  to  receive  and  hold 
the  enamel. 

The  furnace  for  the  fusion  of  the  cut  enamels  is  shown  in  one  of  our 
illustrations.  In  1856,  under  Pius  IX,  Monsignor  Giraud,  Administra- 
tor of  St.  Peter's  (Economo  delta  R.  Fabrica  di  S.  Pietro),  was  ordered 
to  build  this  furnace  for  the  preparation  of  the  enamels  for  the  workers 
who  were  to  undertake  the  great  task  of  making  the  mosaics  for  the 
chronology  of  the  Popes,  the  facade  of  the  Basilica  of  St.  Paul,  and 
the  apse  of  the  Lateran.  These  enamels  were  made  under  the  direction 
of  a  chemist  named  Raffaelli,  and  the  result  was  a  great  success.  The 
enamels  are  made  of  glass  and  minerals.    When  the  glass  has  reached 


THE  MOSAIC  FACTORY 


503 


The  Ollico  uf  the  Director  of  the  Mosaic  Factory 


the  necessary  degree  of  heat  the 
minerals  are  mixed  with  it;  the 
mixture  is  then  poured  into 
small  round  moulds,  and,  once 
it  has  cooled,  is  ready  for  use. 
In  the  case  of  the  gilt  enamels, 
the  procedure  is  as  follows: 
The  w^orkman  takes  a  disc  of 
colored  enamel,  covers  it  with  a 
small  leaf  of  gold,  places  above 
this  a  layer  of  glass,  and  puts 
back  the  disc  in  the  furnace.  On  melting,  the  glass  forms  an  amalgam 
with  the  enamel  and  the  gold,  which,  when  cool,  is  ready  for  use.  The 
room  leading  to  the  furnace-room  contains  a  stock  of  the  enamel 
threads,  wdiich  are  used  in  a  different  way.  The  mosaic  workers,  with 
the  help  of  a  lamp  flame,  mould  them  to  the  shape  desired.  Of  the  col- 
oring material  used  in  these  enamel  threads  there  is  also  an  ample  sup- 
ply, for,  like  the  cut  enamels,  new  threads  have  to  be  made  daily  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  workmen.  The  man  wdio  has  charge  of  the 
composition  of  the  tints  must  have  long  experience  in  his  work.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  theory  furnishes  him  with  the  required  for- 
mulae for  the  various  combinations  of  the  "mother  tints"  which  blend  to 
produce  certain  colors,  experience  always  teaches  him  new  combina- 
tions. After  being  scrupulously  weighed,  the  mother  colors  are  put  in 
a  large  crucible  over  a  strong  gas-jet,  the  flame  being  augmented  by 
the  pressure  of  a  bellows.  When  the  enamel  has  become  red-hot  the 
worker  kneads  the  fiery  mass  thoroughly  with  an  iron,  and  then  draws 
the  enamel  into  long  threads  with  a  pliers.  He  must  often  make  many 
trials  before  getting  the  right  tint,  but  success  is  finally  attained  with 
patience,  which  is  the  chief  gift  of  a  good  mosaic  worker  and  artist. 

The  mosaic  artist  who  has  to  copy  exactly  a  certain  work  must  pro- 
ceed very  slowly,  because  the  shades,  which  are  obtained  rapidly  with 
the  brush,  need  careful  study  before  they  can  be  rendered  in  mosaic. 
Looking  at  the  finished  work,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  time  and  pa- 
tience it  requires.  But  the  result  is  worth  all  the  trouble,  because,  while 
the  picture  may  deteriorate,  the  mosaic  lasts  throughout  the  ages  with 
its  beauty  unimpaired. 

The  mosaic  factory  really  forms  a  part  of  the  building  department 
of  St.  Peter's,  and  is  thus  under  the  charge  of  Monsignor  Giuseppe  De 
Bisogno,  Administrator  of  the  Vatican  Basilica.  Its  immediate  man- 
agement is  in  the  hands  of  Professor  Salvatore  Nobili,  who  has  now 
guided  its  fortunes  for  twenty-six  years. 


Part  Four 
THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 

Conclave. — It  is  a  matter  of  universal  knowledge  that 
the  chief  advisers  of  the  Popes  form  a  special  college, 
and  are  known  by  the  name  of  Cardinals.  Their  office 
is,  lirst,  to  assist  the  Pope  in  the  government  of  the 
Universal  Church,  and,  secondly,  when  the  Pope  dies, 
to  elect  a  successor  from  their  number.  To  describe 
the  manner  in  which  the  Cardinals  fulfil  the  former 
function  would  be  out  of  place  here,  since  that  would 
necessitate  a  treatise  on  the  central  administration  of  the  Church.  But 
since  the  elections  of  the  last  three  Popes  took  place  in  the  Vatican 
Palace,  and  since  in  all  probability  future  elections  will  also  be  held 
there,  some  information  concerning  this  important  event  seems  to  be 
called  for. 

Canon  law  prescribes  that,  on  the  death  of  a  Pope,  the  Cardinals  shall 
assemble  as  soon  as  possible  at  the  place  of  his  death  for  the  election 
of  his  successor;  for  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  large  number 
of  Cardinals  will  be  already  assembled  at  this  place.  At  the  end  of  the 
nine  days  which  are  prescribed  for  the  burial  ceremonies,  and  which 
are  also  used  for  the  preparation  of  the  assembly  hall,  the  Cardinals 
meet  to  elect  the  new  Pope.  This  elective  assembly  is  called  the  Con- 
clave. Strict  precepts  require  that  the  Conclave  be  held  in  rooms  which 
are  completely  secluded  by  the  stopping  up  of  all  entrances  and  win- 
dows that  might  make  possible  any  communication  with  the  outer 
world.  Each  accompanied  by  one  priest  (called  a  Conclavist)  and  one 
servant,  the  Cardinals  are  here  immured  until  they  have  elected  some 
one  of  their  body  by  a  two-thirds  majority.  The  votes  are  cast  each 
forenoon  and  afternoon  by  ballot  in  the  Sistine  Chapel.  If  the  neces- 
sary majority  has  not  been  secured,  the  Master  of  Ceremonies  burns 
the  ballot  papers,  together  with  damp  hay,  in  a  small  stove  specially 
set  up  for  this  purpose  in  the  Sistine  Chapel.  The  stove-pipe  extends 
over  the  gable  of  the  chapel  facing  towards  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro, 
where  thousands  assemble  at  the  appointed  hour  in  the  morning  and 
afternoon  to  obtain  the  latest  news  from  this  little  chimney-flue.  The 
thick,  bluish-gray  smoke,  caused  by  the  moist  hay,  indicates  to  the 

n  507  -2 


508  THE  VATICAN 

populace  that  the  voting  has  been  held  without  result.  When,  however, 
a  Cardinal  has  been  chosen  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  electors 
present,  the  ballot  papers  alone  (without  the  hay)  are  burned,  the  con- 
sequence being  that  only  a  light  and  almost  invisible  smoke  issues  from 
the  chimney.  A  feverish  excitement  then  seizes  all  the  assembled 
crowd,  and  on  every  side  the  discussion  rages  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
Pope-Elect.  Meanwhile  the  elected  candidate  is  clothed  with  the  white 
papal  soutane  in  the  sacristy  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  where  three  such 
soutanes  of  various  sizes  are  always  held  in  readiness.  The  Cardinals 
then  pay  him  solemn  homage  for  the  first  time,  and  the  oldest  of  the 
Cardinal  Deacons  later  announces  the  result  of  the  election  from  the 
Loggia  of  St.  Peter's.  With  lightning  rapidity  the  news  spreads  through- 
out Rome,  and  every  one  hurries  to  St.  Peter's  to  receive  the  first  bless- 
ing which  the  new  Pope  gives  from  the  above-mentioned  Loggia. 

The  method  of  voting  is  as  follows:  Each  Cardinal  first  signs  his 
name  at  the  top  of  the  ballot  paper  {e.g.,  Ego  Thomas  Card.  Riarius); 
he  then  inserts  in  the  middle  (after  the  \vords  Eligo  .  .  .  D.  Card.) 
the  name  of  the  candidate  for  whom  he  wishes  to  vote,  and  finally 
writes  at  the  bottom  of  the  paper  the  numeral  indicating  his  order  of 
precedence  in  the  Sacred  College  and  also  some  motto  which  has  been 
chosen  especially  for  this  occasion  and  does  not  in  any  way  suggest  his 
identity  (see  illustration  on  page  513).  The  upper  and  lower  parts  of 
the  ballot  are  then  folded  (see  No.  3)  and  secured  with  three  seals  to  the 
left  and  right  of  the  printed  words  Women  (name)  and  Signa  (motto). 
Should  no  candidate  secure  the  prescribed  two-thirds  majority,  the  bal- 
lots are  burned  unopened.  When  a  candidate  has  received  the  neces- 
sary majority,  he  must  reveal  his  motto,  whereupon  the  bottom  folds 
only  of  all  the  ballots  are  opened  until  that  containing  this  motto  is 
discovered.  The  upper  fold  of  this  ballot  is  then  opened  to  ensure  that 
the  candidate  has  not  voted  for  himself.  After  this  formality  all  the 
voting  ballots  are  burned  as  before.  To  bring  to  an  end  a  deadlock,  or 
for  various  other  reasons,  the  Cardinals  are  always  at  liberty  to  trans- 
fer their  votes.  They  are  then  said  to  "vote  by  accedo,"  since  the  word 
Accedo  (I  go  over  to)  occurs  in  the  special  ballot  paper  (No.  2)  used  in 
such  an  instance. 

One  of  the  illustrations  shows  the  Sistine  Chapel  prepared  for 
the  Conclave.  The  seat  of  each  Cardinal  is  surmounted  by  a  canopy, 
which  is  violet  in  color  for  all  the  Cardinals  created  by  the  deceased 
Pontiff,  and  green  for  those  created  before  his  pontificate.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  election,  all  the  canopies  are  turned  down  except  that 
under  which  the  new  Pope  is  seated;  this  remains  open,  and  is  the  first 
indirect  homage  shown  to  the  new  Pontiff.    It  has  been  remarked  that  a 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  509 

Cardinal  may  never  cast  his  ballot  for  himself,  and  that  after  the  voting 
a  careful  investigation  is  always  made  to  discover  if  this  has  been  the 
case.  If  it  should  really  prove  to  be  the  case,  the  election  would  be  in- 
valid. 

Pope's  Daily  Routine. — A  few  general  remarks  concerning  the  busi- 
ness dispatched  by  the  Pope  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

The  personal  atfairs  of  the  Holy  Father,  and  of  those  dependent  on 
him,  are  entrusted  to  the  Papal  Private  Chancery.  This  department  is 
under  the  care  of  the  senior  of  the  two  private  secretaries,  and  claims 


Cortile  del  Maresciallo 

It  is  the  duty  of  Prince  Chigi,  as  Hereditary  Marshal  of  the  Conclave,  to  guard  the  doorway  here 
shown   (which  is  the  only  entrance  to  the  Conclave  during  the  Papal  Election) 

the  attention  of  four  persons.  It  is  not  an  ecclesiastical  department, 
but  is  an  entirely  personal  affair  of  the  Pope.  It  occupies  a  mezzanine 
within  his  suite,  being  situated  over  the  Privy  Antechamber  and  the 
three  adjoining  rooms  beyond  his  private  library. 

The  business  of  the  Universal  Church  and  also  the  affairs  of  his  own 
diocese  (Rome  and  its  precincts)  are  laid  before  the  Pope  by  the  Car- 
dinals and  prelates  who  preside  over  the  various  congregations  and 
boards  created  in  the  course  of  time  to  attend  to  the  endless  business 
details  which  are  referred  to  Rome.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  Pope 
does  not  receive  direct  information — that  is,  w  ithout  the  mediation  of 
the  high  church  officials.  This  immediate  information  is  obtained 
partly  in  audiences,  and  partly  in  letters  opened  by  the  Pope  person- 


510  THE  VATICAN 

ally.  The  most  important  information  is  secured  in  the  audiences 
given  to  the  bishops  of  the  whole  world,  when  they  make  their  regular 
visits  to  the  Tombs  of  the  Apostles  to  give  an  account  of  their  adminis- 
tration. With  other  members  both  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  laity  the 
Pope  discusses  special  affairs.  As  the  result  of  more  than  twenty-six 
years'  observation,  the  writer  is  in  a  position  to  declare  that  there  is 
probably  no  ruler  in  the  world  who  is  kept  so  perfectly  informed  as  to 
everything  of  interest  to  his  office  as  the  Pope.    Through  the  medium 


Crowd  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro  awaiting  the  result  of  ihe  Papal  Election 

of  correspondence,  a  mine  of  highly  valuable  and  confidential  infor- 
mation reaches  the  Holy  Father,  and  often  leads  to  his  direct  inter- 
vention. 

Should  a  person  desire  a  letter  to  reach  the  Pope's  hands,  he  need 
only  place  it  in  an  envelope,  address  it  "Alia  Santita  di  Nostro  Signore 
Pio  Papa  Dccimo,"  and  write  in  the  lower  corner  on  the  left  "Riservato 
al  sacro  tavolino."  This  letter  should  be  then  placed  in  a  second  en- 
velope and  sealed;  and,  after  the  above  address  has  been  again  written, 
with  the  additional  words  "Rome,  Palazzo  Apostolico  Vaticano,"  the 
letter  should  be  registered.  The  writer  may  then  be  certain  that  his 
letter  will  be  opened  by  the  Pope  himself.  Needless  to  say,  this  method 
should  be  adopted  only  by  a  person  who  has  a  really  important  com- 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  511 

miinication  to  make,  which  is  of  immediate  interest  to  the  Holy  Father, 
and  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  cannot  well  be  conveyed  through  the 
medium  of  the  ecclesiastical  officials.  To  burden  him  with  unimpor- 
tant trifles  w^ould  be  a  gross  offence  to  the  Pope. 

Five  or  six  times  a  week  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State  has  the 
first  audience  with  the  Pope.  He  lays  before  him  all  business  which 
calls  for  his  attention,  hears  his  decisions,  and  also  receives  commands 
concerning  new  regulations  emanating  from  the  Holy  Father.     The 


The  Sistine  Chapel  Prepared  for  a  Conclave 

prefects  or  secretaries  of  the  Congregations  of  Cardinals  have,  accord- 
ing to  the  extent  and  importance  of  the  business  on  which  they  are 
engaged,  one  audience  weekly  or  one  or  two  audiences  a  month  at 
specially  appointed  hours  on  special  days.  According  to  the  nature  of 
the  business  to  be  discussed,  these  audiences  last  one  or  two  hours.  It  is 
thus  seen  that  the  Pope  not  only  hears  reports  and  confirms  decisions, 
but  in  specially  difficult  cases  he  also  takes  cognizance  of  the  docu- 
ments, and  gives  his  decision  only  after  a  searching  investigation  of 
the  question  with  his  official  advisers. 

After  the  reform  of  the  Curial  administration  a  change  was  made  in 
the  regulations  for  antecameral  audiences.  The  order  of  these  official 
audiences  is  now  as  follows: 


512  THE  VATICAN 

On  the  first  Monday  of  each  month,  the  President  of  the  Accademia 
dei  Nobili  Ecclesiastic!  and  the  Grand  Almoner;  on  the  second  and 
fourth  Mondays,  the  Cardinal  Datarius,  the  Assistant  Datarius,  and  the 
General  Secretary  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda. 

On  the  first  and  third  Tuesdays  of  each  month,  the  Cardinal  Prefect 
of  the  Congregation  of  the  Council. 

On  the  tirst  Wednesday  of  each  month,  the  Cardinal  Prefect  of  the 
Apostolic  Signatura;  on  the  fourth  Wednesday,  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Biblical  Commission;  on  the  second  and  fourth  Wednesdays,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Propaganda  for  Oriental  Affairs. 

On  every  Thursday,  the  Assessor  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy 
Office;  on  the  second  Thursday  of  each  month,  the  Cardinal  Prefect  of 
the  Congregation  of  the  Index;  on  the  first  and  third  Thursdays,  the 
Cardinal  Prefect  of  the  Propaganda. 

On  every  Friday,  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  the  Congregation  of  the 
Consistory;  on  the  first  and  fourth  Fridays,  the  Cardinal  Grand  Peni- 
tentiary. 

On  tiie  second  Saturday  of  each  month,  the  Cardinal  Chancellor  of 
the  Holy  Roman  Church;  on  the  third  Saturday,  the  Cardinal  Prefect 
of  the  Congregation  of  Studies;  on  the  fourth  Saturday,  the  Dean  of  the 
Court  of  the  Holy  Roman  Rota  and  the  Master  of  the  Apostolic  Palace; 
on  the  first  and  third  Saturdays,  the  Cardinal  Vicar  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Diocese  of  Rome. 

On  the  first  and  third  Sundays  of  the  month,  the  Cardinal  Prefect  of 
the  Congregation  for  the  Discipline  of  the  Sacraments. 

When  these  regular  audiences  will  be  omitted  owing  to  special  func- 
tions, and  in  what  weeks  audiences  will  be  held,  is  announced  each  year 
by  the  Maestro  di  Camera. 

Secretariate  of  State.— The  suite  of  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State 
lies  on  the  first  floor  near  the  Appartamento  Borgia.  In  these  rooms  is 
dispatched  all  business  between  him  and  the  diplomats  accredited  to 
the  Holy  See.  All  bishops  and  archbishops  coming  to  Rome  here  visit 
the  Cardinal  Secretary;  innumerable  persons  of  every  rank  and  station 
call  here  with  information  on  the  most  diverse  things,  and  numerous 
petitioners  of  every  kind  crowd  the  antechamber  of  the  Pope's  most 
important  assistant.  The  extent  of  the  business  here  discharged  is,  as 
regards  both  its  variety  and  its  extent,  literally  astounding. 

Immediately  after  the  audience  of  the  Secretary  of  State  with  the 
Holy  Father,  the  Assistant  Secretary  waits  on  the  former  and  together 
they  distribute  the  daily  business  among  the  various  officials.  The 
offices  of  the  Secretariate  of  State  lie  on  the  third  floor  behind  the  Gal- 
lery of  Geographical  Charts,  and  almost  completely  surround  the  Cor- 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


513 


hJ 


Ej<0 


OrJ. 


Higoin  Snmmum  roniificem  ft."  D- 
metim  D.  Card. 


«?<> 


y     Card,  ^/iv-'jy' 


I).  Car.L 


?<C.>^/ 


/-' 


.iik.- 


9    ^YA^ij^    ■ 


(2) 


?'^6l>S'»3-»0  1D-»' 


'2ZSSZ 


Eligoin  gnmnuimToniificerniSe.'  D- 
-  meum  D-   Cnrd. 


I   Signa.  ? 


L 


n 


^i§  ^  fS i  *" : '« f«^ 


AcccJo  Bereiendus.  D.  ineci 
D.   Card. 


C!) 


Voting  Ballots  used  in  Papal  Elections  (cf.  page  508) 

tile  del  Papagallo  and  the  Cortile  del  Maresciallo.  The  extremely  im- 
portant and  extensive  Archives  of  the  Secretariate  are  also  located  here. 
A  special  featnre  of  these  Archives  is  the  ease  and  dispatch  with  which 
every  document  in  the  collection  can  be  found  by  means  of  the  special 
tiling  system,  which  is  attended  to  daily. 

Since  its  amalgamation  with  the  Secretariate  of  State,  the  Secretariate 
of  Briefs  has  been  accommodated  in  the  rooms  on  the  third  floor  left 
free  by  the  removal  of  the  old  Pinacoteca.  The  business  of  this  depart- 
ment of  briefs  is  very  extensive  and  important.  Apart  from  the  special 
questions  of  church  administration,  the  briefs  for  all  kinds  of  eccle- 
siastical privileges  are  prepared  here  (e.g.,  for  the  maintaining  of  pri- 
vate oratories,  for  the  reservation  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  so  on) . 

Papal  Orders  axd  Decorations.— It  may  interest  wider  circles  to 
know  that  all  Papal  Decorations  and  Orders  are  conferred  by  a  brief. 
And  since  in  such  cases  the  matters  arise  from  no  immediate  necessity, 
but  are  undertaken  merely  to  give  pleasure  and  satisfaction  to  indi- 


THE  VATICAN 


Tin-  Interior  of  the  Sistine  Cliapel  after  tlie  Election  of  Pius  X 

All  Ihe  canopies  are  turned  down  except  that  of  the  Patriarch  of  Venice 

viduals,  it  is  entirely  proper  and  reasonable  that  the  chancery  fees  for 
the  preparation  of  the  briefs  for  decorations  conferred  on  private  per- 
sons should  be  comparatively  high.  The  different  classes  of  an  Order 
call  for  the  payment  of  fees  of  varying  amounts  when  the  Order  is  con- 
ferred. The  Grand  Cross  is  the  highest  taxed,  the  Commander's  Cross 
the  next  highest,  and  the  Knight's  Cross  the  lowest.  There  is  also  a 
difference  of  rank  among  the  Orders  themselves,  and  this  difference  is 
reflected  in  the  fees,  since  the  Orders  standing  highest  call  also  for 
relatively  higher  taxes.  The  foolish  calumny  formerly  so  often  heard, 
that  the  Papal  Orders  were  purchasable,  is  now  discredited — at  least 
among  intelligent  people.  Such  a  thing  is  absolutely  impossible,  since 
the  same  principles  are  observed  in  granting  these  Orders  as  are  ob- 
served in  every  other  responsible  state. 

The  Holy  Father  confers  the  following  Orders  and  Decorations: 

(1)  The  Order  of  Christ.  This  highest  of  all  Orders  was  founded  by 
Pope  John  XXH  on  March  14,  1319.  It  has  only  one  class,  and  is  also 
known  as  the  "Militia  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  Order  is  worn 
on  a  ribbon  around  the  neck. 

(2)  The  Order  of  the  Golden  Spur.  This  also  has  but  a  single  class, 
and  was  founded  at  some  very  ancient  date  which  can  no  longer  be 
exactly  determined.  It  is  known  in  history  as  the  "Militia  Aurata,"  and 
was  reorganized  by  Pius  X  in  1905. 

(3)  The  Order  of  Pius,  named  after  its  founder.  Pope  Pius  IX,  who 
erected  it  by  Bull  of  June  17,  1847.    This  possesses  four  classes:  (a) 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  515 

Knights  of  the  Grand  Cross;  (h)  Knights  of  the  Commander's  Cross 
with  the  Plaque;  (c)  Knights  of  the  Commander's  Cross;  (d)  Knights  of 
the  Simple  Cross.  The  main  reason  for  the  founding  of  this  Order  was 
to  provide  a  decoration  which  did  not  bear  the  name  of  a  saint,  and 
with  which  non-Catholics  might  be  honored. 

(4)  The  Order  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  founded  by  Gregory  XVI  on 
September  1,  1831,  in  honor  of  his  patron  saint.  This  comprises  both  a 
civil  and  a  military  class,  each  possessing  four  degrees  like  the  Pius 
Order. 

(5)  The  Order  of  Pope  St.  Sylvester.  This  also  was  founded  by  Greg- 
ory XVI  on  October  31,  1841.  It  was  reformed  by  Pius  X  in  1905,  when 
its  insignia  were  somewhat  altered.    It  has  the  usual  four  degrees. 

(6)  The  Order  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  This  Order  was  founded  by 
the  Apostolic  Brief  "Cum  multa"  of  .lanuary  24,  1868,  and  was  re- 
formed by  Pius  X  in  1907.  The  Order  is  conferred  in  the  name  of  the 
Pope  by  the  Latin  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Pope  himself  is  its 
Grand  Master.  The  Order  has  the  same  four  degrees  as  above,  and  may 
be  conferred  on  women. 

(7)  The  decoration  of  the  Cross,  "Pro  Ecclesia  et  Pontifice,"  which 
formerlv  had  four  classes,  has  now  only  one.  It  was  founded  by 
LeoXIli. 

(8)  The  Service  Medal,  "Bene  merenti,"  which  was  formerly  so 
frequently  conferred,  was  revived  by  Pius  X. 

In  our  illustration  on  page  517,  the  following  decorations  have  been 
reproduced:  (1)  Plaque  (Badge)  of  the  Order  of  Christ,  worn  at  the 
breast.  (2)  The  Order  of  Christ.  (3)  Knight's  Cross  of  the  Order  of 
St.  Sylvester.  (4)  Count's  Cross  of  the  Order  of  St.  Sylvester.  (5) 
Grand  Cross  of  the  Order  of  Pius.  (6)  Plaque  of  the  Grand  Cross  of 
the  Order  of  Pius.  (7)  Count's  Cross  of  the  Order  of  Pius.  (8) 
Knight's  Cross  of  the  Order  of  Pius.  (9)  Grand  Cross  of  the  Second 
Class  of  the  Order  of  St.  Gregory  for  Civilians.  (10)  Knight's  Cross 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Gregory.  (11)  Grand  Cross  of  the  Second  Class  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Gregory  for  Officers.  (12)  Grand  Cross  of  the  First 
Class  of  the  Order  of  St.  Gregory  for  Civilians.  (13)  Plaque  of  the 
Grand  Cross  of  the  First  and  Second  Classes  of  the  Order  of  St.  Gregory. 
(14)  Grand  Cross  of  the  First  Class  of  the  Order  of  St.  Gregory 
for  Officers. 

The  external  form  of  the  Solemn  Briefs,  as  they  are  called,  is  won- 
derfully impressive.  The  ancient  tradition  of  the  Church  has  in  this 
connection  supplied  a  type  which  other  state  chanceries  might  well 
envy.  These  documents,  which  are  written  on  vellum,  display  a  per- 
fect simplicity  of  form,  while  in  the  distribution  of  space  and  the  styles 


516  THE  VATICAN 

of  penmanship  the  highest  degree  of  perfection  has  been  attained.  The 
ordinary  briefs,  used  for  the  transaction  of  current  business,  are  natu- 
rally of  an  essentially  simpler  character. 

The  Papal  Family. — Almost  without  exception,  the  Popes  have 
chosen,  after  their  election,  a  new  Secretary  of  State.  In  view  of  the 
extreme  importance  and  confidential  nature  of  this  position,  it  is  quite 
natural  that  the  new  Pope  should  select  for  it  the  man  in  whom  he  per- 
sonally reposes  the  greatest  confidence.  The  Secretary  of  State  and  the 
Datarius  are  now  the  only  Palace  Cardinals.  These  were  formerly  four 
in  number,  but  the  Secretariate  of  Briefs  and  the  Secretariate  of  Memo- 
rials, offices  formerly  held  by  Palace  Cardinals,  are  no  longer  separate 
departments.  The  above-mentioned  two  Palace  Cardinals  are  the 
highest  members  of  the  "Papal  Family" — that  is,  of  the  circle  of  per- 
sons who,  in  virtue  of  their  office  or  position  of  honor,  belong  to  the 
immediate  household  of  the  Pope.  To  this  household  naturally  belong 
in  a  special  manner  the  high  court  officials,  who  render  constant  service 
to  the  Pope  and  are  in  constant  contact  with  him.  These  all  are  included 
under  the  general  title  of  the  Nobile  Anticamera  Segreta  (Noble  Privy 
Antechamber). 

At  the  head  of  this  Antechamber  stand  the  four  Palatine  Prelates,  all 
of  whom  have  the  right  to  free  quarters  in  the  Vatican  Palace.  The 
first  of  these  is  the  Majordomo  (Prsefectus  Palatii  Apostolici),  or  Chief 
Governor  of  His  Holiness  the  Pope.  It  should  be  noted  that,  during  the 
vacancy  of  the  Papal  See,  this  official  continues  in  office  as  Governor 
of  the  Conclave  until  the  new  Pope  has  been  elected.  When  the  Pope 
takes  his  place  on  the  throne,  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the  Majordomo, 
as  the  highest  of  the  prelates,  to  stand  immediately  to  the  right  of  the 
throne.  He  exercises  supreme  supervision  over  all  religious  functions 
at  which  the  Pope  and  his  court  assist.  The  Chief  Master  of  Ceremonies 
is  thus  under  obligation  to  discuss  such  functions  with  the  Majordomo 
beforehand.  The  drawing  up  of  all  nominations  to  court  offices  or 
posts  of  honor  is  also  the  task  of  the  Majordomo,  and  he  is  an  ex-officio 
member  of  the  Palatine  Commission  entrusted  with  the  administration 
of  the  Apostolic  Palaces.  Formerly  the  Majordomo  was  also  the  chief 
director  of  the  Papal  Choir  (also  known  as  the  Cappella  Sistina),  which 
he  directed  in  accordance  with  the  special  Apostolic  Constitutions  and 
Statutes  governing  this  body.  The  Majordomo  enjoys  many  other 
rights  and  privileges,  which  however  may  be  passed  over  here. 

The  second  Palatine  Prelate  is  the  Maestro  di  Camera  (Prtefectus 
Cubiculi  Secreti) ,  or  High  Chamberlain.  His  authority  extends  mainly 
to  those  persons  and  things  connected  with  the  daily  service  of  His 
Holiness.    He  thus  enjoys,  in  the  first  place,  jurisdiction  over  all  papal 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


517 


/  .  W 


'•■^. 


>iO^ 


13 


Papal  Decorations  (see  page  515) 


518 


\ 


THE  VATICAN 


■515* 


0 


4 


The  Order  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre 

(1)   Commander's  Cross.      (2)    Knight's   Cross.      (31    Plaque  of  the  Grand  Cross 
(4)    Commander's  Plaque.      (5)    Grand  Cross 

chaml)erlains,  both  ecclesiastical  and  lay,  and  regulates  their  duties 
in  the  Antechamber.  He  informs  the  Commanders  of  the  Noble,  Swiss, 
and  Palatine  Guards  of  their  hours  of  service,  controls  all  proceedings 
in  the  Antechamber,  and  dismisses  the  Gentlemen-in-waiting  at  the 
close  of  the  audiences.  Since  all  requests  for  an  audience  pass  through 
his  hands,  he  is  by  far  the  best  known  of  all  the  court  officials,  and 
every  morning  and  afternoon  his  antechamber  is  besieged  by  a  crowd 
of  persons  of  all  nations  and  classes,  all  giving  expression  to  a  single 
wish — namely,  their  desire  to  see  the  Holy  Father.  Day  after  day  the 
routine  continues,  so  that  this  office  demands  an  extraordinary  pa- 
tience and  absence  of  nerves  in  its  occupant,  who  must  always  give  a 
friendly  hearing  to  the  never-changing  retjuest  of  endless  thousands. 

While,  as  was  already  stated,  official  ecclesiastical  functions  are 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Majordomo,  the  Maestro  di  Camera  ar- 
ranges all  receptions  that  are  not  directly  official  and  fixed,  such  as 
audiences  given  to  pilgrimages,  musical  and  other  performances  in 
the  presence  of  the  Holy  Father,  and  so  forth.  From  the  fact  that  the 
Maestro  di  Camera  receives  daily  the  orders  of  the  Pope  for  the  service 
of  the  following  day,  the  confidential  nature  and  special  importance 
of  his  position  \vill  be  immediately  recognized.  In  processions  he  takes 
precedence  of  the  numberless  Prothonotaries  Apostolic,  entirely  re- 
gardless of  the  date  of  his  appointment.  Naturally,  this  rule  is  not 
intended  to  apply  when,  as  happens  in  exceptional  cases,  the  Maestro 


Decoration  of  the  Vexillifer 
or  Standard-bearer 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  519 

di  Camera  is  a  titular  bishop  or  archbishop,  the  ordi- 
nary rules  of  precedence  being  followed  in  such  in- 
stances. It  is  also  worthy  of  mention  that,  in  the 
absence  of  the  Majordomo,  most  of  his  duties  are  per- 
formed by  the  Maestro  di  Camera. 

Inasmuch  as  the  third  place  among  the  palace  prel- 
ates has  not  been  occupied  for  a  long  time,  and  there 
is  little  prospect  of  a  future  appointment,  it  calls  for 
little  mention  here.  The  occupant  bore  the  title  of  Auditor  of  the  Pope, 
and  was  a  kind  of  theological  and  legal  counsellor,  especially  in  ques- 
tions connected  with  appointments  to  vacant  sees. 

According  to  tradition,  the  oflice  of  the  fourth  palace  prelate  extends 
back  to  St.  Dominic.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the 
Magistro  del  Sacro  Palazzo  (Magister  Sacri  Palatii),  the  Master  or 
Teacher  of  the  Sacred  Palace,  is  always  a  Dominican.  And  as  a  natural 
result  of  his  office  of  counsellor  to  the  Curia,  this  prelate  is  to-day  the 
special  theologian  of  the  Pope.  In  this  capacity  he  has,  for  example, 
to  examine  carefully  beforehand  all  sermons  and  religious  discourses 
which  are  to  be  delivered  in  the  presence  of  the  Pope.  During  such 
addresses  he  sits  near  the  preacher  with  the  manuscript  in  hand,  and 
carefully  notes  whether  the  sermon  is  delivered  verbatim  as  it  was 

written.  The  reason  for  this  procedure  is,  first, 
to  ensure  that  the  theological  contents  shall  not 
suffer  any  alteration,  and,  secondly,  to  prevent 
the  preacher  from  drifting  away  from  his  subject 
in  pursuit  of  some  new  line  of  thought  which 
may  suddenly  suggest  itself.  Such  improvisa- 
tions, if  tolerated  in  the  presence  of  the  Pope, 
might  possibly  have  undesirable  results.  The 
Magistro  also  exercises  the  censorship  over  the 
manuscripts  of  all  books  appearing  in  Rome,  and 
grants  the  Imprimatur.  As  a  palace  prelate,  he  occupies  a  prominent 
place  in  all  religious  functions  at  which  the  Pope  assists.  He  is  an  ex- 
officio  member  (Consultor)  of  several  Congregations  which  discharge 
business  closely  allied  with  his  office.  Like  the  Majordomo  and  the 
Maestro  di  Camera,  he  resides  in  the  Vatican  Palace,  but,  although  he 
belongs  to  the  prelature,  he  has  no  external  badge  of  his  office.  Many 
in  the  long  line  of  clerics  who  have  held  this  office  have  passed  from  it 
to  the  cardinalate,  but  the  custom  has  not  been  sufTiciently  regular  to 
amount  to  a  prescriptive  right. 

It  has  been  saitl  above  that  the  prelate  who  associates  most  intimately 
with  the  Holy  Father  is  the  Maestro  di  Camera,  since  it  is  he  who 


Service  Medal  of  Pius  IX 


Privy   r,h;inilKTlain   in   Spanish  Costume 
(Caiiierierc  di  spaila  e  cappa) 


520  THE  VATICAN 

arranges  daily  the  whole  order  of 
the  audiences,  and  daily  receives 
the  Pope's  commands  for  the  fol- 
lowing day.  In  these  duties  he  is 
assisted  by  four  Chamberlains  in 
the  religious  state,  who,  either  in- 
dividually or  in  pairs,  render 
w^eekly  service  in  the  Antecham- 
ber. In  all  things  they  are  subject 
to  the  Maestro  di  Camera,  who,  at 
regular  intervals,  fixes  their  hours 
of  service.  Even  when  there  are 
no  audiences  or  receptions,  these 
chamberlains  must  be  ready  to 
wait  on  the  Pope — for  example, 
to  accompany  him  on  his  walk  or 
drive  in  the  Gardens,  to  execute 
commissions  in  the  city,  and  so  on. 
They  all  reside  in  the  Vatican 
Palace,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  of  differ- 
ent nationalities,  since  service  in 

the  Antechamber  requires  the  occasional   use  of  many 
French  and  Italian  are  of  course  the  staple  medium  of  conversation. 

Since  the  service  wdiich  the  Privy  Chamberlains  render  to  the  Pope 
is  purely  personal,  their  period  of  office  ends  with  his  death.  Although 
it  commonly  occurs  that  the  new  Pope  appoints  to  important  positions 
men  whom  from  personal  experience  he  knows  to  be  worthy  of  his 
confidence,  he  almost  always  retains  temporarily  in  office  the  Cham- 
berlains of  his  predecessor,  so  that  the  service  in  the  Antechamber  may 
continue  efficient  and  uninterrupted. 

Besides  these  four  Privy  Chamberlains  proper  (the  number  actually 
holding  office  varies  at  different  times),  mention  must  be  made  of  five 
other  prelates  who  hold  important  offices  in  the  court  and  the  church 
administration.  These  are  the  Assistant  Datarius  (Sotto  Datario),  the 
Secretary  of  Briefs  to  Princes  (Segretario  dei  Brevi  ai  Principi),  the 
Secretary  of  Latin  Briefs  (Segretario  delle  Lettere  Latine),  the  Under- 
Secretary  of  State  and  Director  of  Ciphers  (Segretario  della  Cifra),  and 
the  Privy  or  Grand  Almoner  (Elemosiniere  Segreto).  The  last-men- 
tioned, who  administers  all  the  funds  assigned  to  him  by  the  Pope  for 
charitable  purposes  in  accordance  with  special  rules  drawn  up  for  his 
guidance,  deserves  special  notice.  The  extent  of  his  duties  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  he  is  assisted  by  one  secretary,  two  book- 


languages. 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


521 


Privy  Chnniborlain  in  Service  Uniform 


keepers,  one  cashier,  and  two 
clerks.  Besides  the  large  sums 
given  to  him  for  current  demands, 
the  Holy  Father  assigns  to  him 
special  sums  on  great  feasts  and 
extraordinary  occasions  {e.g.,  a 
Jubilee),  to  be  distributed,  either 
personally  or  through  the  medium 
of  the  pastors,  among  the  poor 
and  needy.  The  Privy  Almoner  is 
customarily  a  Titular  Bishop  and 
an  Assistant  at  the  Throne,  and 
has  his  official  residence  and  of- 
fices in  the  Vatican  Palace.  His 
offices  are  reached  through  the 
door  behind  the  Colonnade  which 
also  gives  access  to  the  quarters  of 
the  Swass  Guard.  The  Almoner 
has  regular  audiences  with  the 
Holy  Father,  in  which  he  submits 
petitions  to  His  Holiness,  discusses  all  matters  connected  with  his  office, 
and  receives  the  commands  of  the  Pope.  His  office  is  ad  uitam  Ponti- 
ficis — that  is,  it  is  terminable  with  the  life  of  the  Pope. 

The  office  of  the  Prefect  of  the  Apostolic  Chapel  (also  called  the 
Sacristan  of  the  Pope)  is  for  life.  From  the  very  earliest  times  a  cleric 
was  assigned  to  the  service  of  the  Papal  Chapel — that  is,  to  exercise  the 
care  of  souls  at  the  Papal  Court.  In  the  course  of  time  this  office  be- 
came of  great  importance,  and  great  privileges  were  associated  wiih  it. 
In  1497  Alexander  VI  (1492-1503)  decreed  that  the  Sacristan  should  be 
always  chosen  from  the  August inian  Order,  and  this  practice  continues 
to  the  present  day.  The  Sacristan  is  always  the  Titular  Bishop  of  Por- 
phyreon  and  an  Assistant  at  the  Throne.  He  is  an  ex-officio  Consultor 
of  a  number  of  Congregations  and  Commissions,  and  in  his  official 
capacity  has  participated  in  the  Conclave  since  the  reign  of  Pius  IV 
(1559-1565).  Besides  supervising  the  Papal  Chapels  and  administer- 
ing the  treasures  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  and  of  the  Vatican  Chamber  of 
Relics,  the  Sacristan  is  pastor  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces.  In  connection 
with  this  last  duty  he  is  aided  by  the  Assistant  Sacristan,  who  is  also 
an  Augustinian.  Before  the  Pope  pontificates,  the  Sacristan  must  test 
the  host  and  the  wine  and  water  which  are  to  be  used  in  the  Mass.  On 
fixed  occasions  he  assists  the  Pope  at  the  altar,  and  then  wears  the  man- 
telletta  and  mozetta  without  rochet.     The  rite  of  blessing  the  Papal 


522  THE  VATICAN 

Apartments  on  Holy  Saturday,  in  connection  with  the  general  blessing 
of  houses  which  takes  place  on  that  day,  pertains  to  him.  When  he 
reaches  the  room  occupied  by  the  Pope  he  removes  his  stole  and  pre- 
sents the  aspersorium  to  the  Holy  Father,  who  blesses  this  room.  It  is 
from  the  hands  of  the  Sacristan  that  the  dying  Pope  receives  Extreme 
Unction. 

A  very  important  role  at  the  Papal  Court  is  filled  by  the  Masters  of 
Ceremonies.  Their  office  is  confined  to  ecclesiastical  functions,  while 
questions  of  ceremonial  in  general  (for  example,  questions  of  prece- 
dence among  the  Cardinals  and  diplomats)  are  decided  by  the  Congre- 
gation of  Ceremonial.  The  Magistri  Caeremonlarum  Apostolicarum 
were  not  formed  into  a  college  until  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
The  Prefect,  or  Antistes  Cseremoniarum,  has  a  most  responsible  task, 
because  he  has  complete  charge  of  the  very  complicated  ceremonies  at 
all  great  ecclesiastical  functions — for  example,  at  the  death  of  the  Pope, 
during  the  Conclave,  at  the  proclamation  of  the  election,  and  especially 
in  connection  with  the  coronation  of  the  new  Pope. 

The  source  of  the  general  ceremonies  for  the  coronation  is  probably 
to  be  sought  in  the  Byzantine  court  ceremonial.  The  details  thence 
derived  were  further  developed  and  completed.  In  the  course  of  time 
new  elements  were  added  wdien  deemed  necessary,  and  thus  was 
evolved  the  ceremonial  as  it  stands  to-day.  Those  who  judge  this 
gigantic  ceremony  in  its  entirety  must  admit  that,  individual  details 
aside,  its  progress  is  one  of  glorious  solemnity  and  majesty.  The  special 
ecclesiastical  ceremonies  which  emphasize  the  absence  of  the  Pope  are 
inspired  by  the  thought  that  for  him,  as  Christ's  Vicar,  a  central  posi- 
tion must  be  prepared.  This  is  effected  with  such  unostentatious  pre- 
cision, with  so  retined  a  moderation  in  all  details,  that  every  spectator 
must  concede  that  no  more  solemn  and  worthy  development  of  a 
religious  service  could  be  imagined.  The  profane  ceremonies  in  con- 
nection with  the  receptions,  audiences,  and  so  forth,  differ  only  in  a 
few  details  from  those  customary  in  secular  courts. 

The  development  of  divine  worship  into  an  act  of  the  highest  solem- 
nity is  a  requirement  of  human  nature,  and  the  Church  satisfies  this 
craving  by  giving  a  sublime  aim  to  customs  and  ceremonies  common 
among  men.  And  the  highest  and  most  solemn  expression  of  those 
ceremonies  is  found  in  the  regulations  which  have  been  gradually 
elaborated  for  divine  service  celebrated  by  the  Pope  or  in  his  presence. 
Tradition,  which  always,  when  possible,  harks  back  to  earlier  occur- 
rences, exercises  here  her  full  power,  and  cares  for  the  homogeneity 
of  the  development  of  papal  ceremonial.  New  cases,  seldom  as  they 
occur,  are  always  decided  according  to  the  analogy  of  similar  cases  in 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


523 


Consecration  (if  Hungarian  Bishops  in  the  Sistine  Cliapel 


11 

Mass  according  to  the  Greek  Rite  in  the  Aula  delle  Beatiflcazioni 


The  Tiara  or  Triple  Crown 


524  THE  VATICAN 

the  past,  and  the  rich  archives  of 
the  College  of  the  Masters  of  Cere- 
monies always  offer  an  inexhaust- 
ible mine  of  information  to  the 
prelates  in  office. 

Besides  the  above-mentioned 
active  Chamberlains,  there  is  a 
large  number  of  honorary  Privy 
Chamberlains,  who  enjoy  merely 
the  title  and  the  right  to  wear  the 
distinctive  dress.  Corresponding 
with  this  class  is  the  large  body  of 
lay  Chamberlains  wiio  are  called 
upon  to  render  service  only  at 
very  rare  intervals.  But,  just  as 
there  are  four  ecclesiastical  Privy 
Chamberlains  in  the  strict  sense 
who  are  court  otTicials,  there  are 
also  four  lay  Chamberlains.  The 
first  of  these  is  the  Maestro  del 
Sacro  Ospizio  (the  Master  of  the  Sacred 
for  life  and  is  hereditary  in  his  family, 
1431)  vested  the  Conti  family  with  this  honorable  office,  but  as  their 
property  was  inherited  by  the  Ruspoli  family,  the  latter  now  enjoy 
this  office  also.  The  Maestro  del  Sacro  Ospizio  had  formerly  an  exten- 
sive sphere  of  activity  in  all  questions  relating  to  the  reception  and 
accommodation  of  kings  and  princes,  members  of  the  Curia,  and  other 
distinguished  personages  who  visited  the  Pope;  but  under  existing  con- 
ditions his  duties  are  greatly  modified.  He  greets  sovereigns  and 
princes  and  princesses  of  the  royal  blood  at  the  foot  of  the  Scala  Nobile 
in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  when  they  come  to  visit  the  Pope.  Present- 
ing his  arm  to  the  ladies,  he  escorts  them  up  the  staircase  to  the  Throne 
Room  or  the  Antechamber,  and  also  acts  as  their  escort  when,  at  the 
close  of  the  audience,  they  wish  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Vatican  Collections. 
He  must  appear  at  all  functions  attended  by  the  Pope,  and  must  always 
receive  a  special  invitation  from  the  head  of  the  Apostolic  Ministry.  In 
processions  he  takes  precedence  of  the  .ludges  of  the  Rota,  and  follows 
immediately  the  Ministers  General  of  the  Mendicant  Orders.  He  is  also 
known  as  the  Custos  Sacri  Sacelli  (Custodian  of  the  Sacred  Chapel)  or 
Custos  Interior  Augusti  Consessus  Cardinalium  (Custodian  of  the 
Sacred  College),  because  he  guards  the  entrance  to  the  quadrangle  in 
the  Sistine  Chapel  which  the  Cardinals  occupy  on  solemn  occasions. 


Hospice),  w^hose  office  is 
Pope   Martin   V    (1417- 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


525 


The  Singers  of  the  Sistine  Choir,  with  Maestro  Perosi 

Besides  the  above-mentioned  official  Privy  Chamberlains,  there  are 
five  Privy  Chamberlains  who  do  not  lose  their  honorary  title  at  the 
death  of  the  Pope.  These  are  known  as  Chamberlains  di  niimero,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  Supernumerary  Chamberlains.  Lifelong  is 
also  the  title  enjoyed  by  the  laymen  who  form  the  second  class  of 
honorary  chamberlains.  This  small  body  of  privileged  Chamberlains 
of  both  classes  is  usually  recruited  from  those  longest  in  office,  and  was 
founded  so  that  there  might  be  some  Chamberlains  available  during 
the  papal  election  for  service  in  the  Antechamber.  While  all  the  other 
Chamberlains  lose  their  title  and  office  at  the  death  of  the  Pope,  since 
their  relations  with  the  Holy  Father  are  of  a  purely  personal  nature, 
the  senior  Chamberlains  of  both  classes  continue  in  office  permanently 
for  the  above  reason,  and  become  Chamberlains  for  life.  As  all  lay 
Chamberlains  wear  with  their  full-dress  uniform  a  sword  and  mantle, 
they  are  known  as  Camerieri  di  spada  e  cappa  (Cubicularii  ab  ense  et 
lucerna). 

Every  Chamberlain,  whether  privileged  or  supernumerary,  is  a 
member  of  the  papal  family,  and  enjoys  free  access  to  all  papal  func- 
tions, provided  that  he  appears  in  his  official  dress.  Every  week  one 
Privy  and  one  Honorary  Chamberlain  are  summoned  for  service  in  the 
Antechamber,  and  on  festival  occasions  the  attendance  of  a  larger  num- 


526  THE  VATICAN 

ber  is  required  to  see  that  the  order  prescribed  by  the  Majordomo  or 
Maestro  di  Camera  is  observed  on  the  platforms.  Their  dress  uniform, 
which  is  in  the  style  of  the  sixteenth  century,  with  ruff  and  large 
golden  chain,  is  very  picturesque.  The  number  of  lay  Chamberlains 
ihroughout  the  world,  who  have  received  this  distinction  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  their  bishops,  is  very  large. 

There  are  at  present  four  Private  Chaplains  of  the  Pope,  and  these 
also  hold  purely  personal  offices  at  the  Court.  The  number  of  these 
chaplains  has  varied  greatly  at  different  limes.  Two  of  them  perform 
special  otfices  in  liturgical  functions  as  bearer  of  the  pontilical  cross 
and  train-bearer.  There  are  a  large  number  of  honorary  Papal  Chap- 
lains throughout  the  world,  who  enjoy  the  title  without  the  duties. 

Papal  Functions. — From  the  above  information  concerning  the 
most  important  court  officials,  the  reader  can  form  a  fair  idea  of  how 
rich  is  the  development  of  ceremonies  when  the  Pope  celebrates  a  great 
festival.  All  these  various  classes  of  court  officials,  members  of  the 
Papal  Household,  are  represented  on  such  occasions,  and  in  the  pon- 
tifical procession  the  place  of  each  is  exactly  determined.  The  variety 
of  the  dress  worn  by  the  court  officials  excites  great  curiosity  among  the 
beholders,  and  the  brilliant  uniforms  of  the  laity  give  additional  life  to 
a  picture  already  glowing  with  color. 

On  the  anniversary  of  his  coronation  and  on  a  few  other  special 
occasions  the  Pope  wears  the  tiara,  or  triple  crown  (triregnum),  instead 
of  the  episcopal  mitre.  In  its  present  form,  with  three  crowns,  the 
head-dress  dates  from  the  fourteenth  century.  Formerly  it  tapered  to 
a  point,  but  during  the  eighteenth  century  it  assumed  the  shape  of  a 
beehive,  thus  developing  into  one  of  the  most  unbecoming  head-dresses 
in  the  world.  Lately  the  old  graceful  pointed  Phrygian  head-dress  with 
three  crowns  seems  to  be  returning  into  favor,  a  change  for  which  we 
may  feel  grateful.  There  are  many  tiaras  in  the  treasury  of  the  Sistine 
Chapel,  but  among  them  there  is  only  one  whose  lines  can  be  described 
as  beautiful.    This  was  presented  to  Leo  XIII  by  the  Catholics  of  Paris. 

Among  the  honorary  offices  of  the  Vatican  must  be  mentioned  also 
that  of  Custodian  of  the  Triple  Crown  (Custode  dei  Sacri  Triregni).  In 
the  later  Middle  Ages  we  find  the  papal  Master  of  the  Treasury  men- 
tioned by  this  title.  As  he  had  in  his  charge  most  valuable  jewels 
(chalices,  rings,  pectoral  crosses,  mitres,  etc.),  he  was  often  entrusted 
with  the  very  costly  tiaras,  which  were  encrusted  with  precious  stones. 
When  these  were  to  be  used  he  demanded  a  receipt  before  allowing 
them  out  of  his  possession.  This  arrangement  continued  for  a  long 
period,  but  in  recent  times  the  Sacristan  has  been  the  real  custodian  of 
these  precious  objects,  although  he  is  not  given  the  title.     When  a 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  527 

tiara  is  to  be  worn  in  pontifical 
processions,  it  is  borne  by  a  papal 
chaplain  in  black  soutane.  Beside 
the  chaplain  walks  the  Jeweler  of 
the  Apostolic  Palaces  in  black  uni- 
form and  wearing  a  sword.  The 
latter  guards  the  tiara  from  the 
time  it  leaves  the  Sistine  Treasury 
until  it  is  returned  to  the  Assistant 
Sacristan.  During  the  function, 
therefore,  he  is  the  real  Custodian 
of  the  Triple  Crown,  although  he 
has  nothing  to  do  with  its  guard- 
ianship. 

On  these  and  other  solemn  oc- 
casions the  celebrations  are  height- 
ened by  the  presence  of  the  Sistine 
Choir.    This  bore  from  the  begin- 
ning the  title  of  Schola  Cantorum 
Domini  Papse,  because  even  in  an- 
cient times  it  was  already  formed 
into  a  college.    As  might  be  sup- 
posed, this  college  was  composed 
exclusively  of  clerics  in  the  early 
Middle  Ages  and  even  later,  since 
these  alone  possessed  the  neces- 
sary training  to  qualify  them  to 
till  the  office.  Consequently,  when 
in  recent  centuries  the  laity  also 
were  admitted  to  the  Choir,  it  was  made  a  condition  of  their  service  that 
they  should  always  wear  the  clerical  dress.    The  Schola  was  extended 
greatly,  especially  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  and  was 
fostered  with  great  privileges  and  large  endowments.    In  times  still 
more  recent  the  repute  of  the  Choir  has  been  firmly  established,  owing 
partly  to  its  famous  conductors  and  partly  to  its  own  splendid  per- 
formances. 

Since  the  Sistine  Choir  sings  only  a  cappella— [hat  is,  unaccompanied 
by  the  organ  or  other  musical  instrument — in  the  presence  of  the  Pope, 
it  has  developed  the  custom  of  singing  only  a  cappella  on  all  occasions. 
Apart  from  papal  functions,  the  Choir  sings  only  at  Requiem  Masses 
for  the  high  court  officials,  and  on  other  occasions  for  which  the  special 
permission  of  the  Holy  Father  has  been  secured. 


Papal  Processional  Cross 


528 


THE  VATICAN 


Pontifical  Mazziere  or  Mace-bearer 


Until  a  few  years  ago  a  director 
was  chosen  annually  from  the 
ranks  of  the  singers,  but  this  did 
not  tend  to  raise  the  efficiency  of 
the  Choir.  At  present  Maestro 
Perosi,  the  celebrated  composer,  is 
permanent  director,  and  is  as- 
sisted by  a  permanent  Vice- 
maestro.  Perosi  has  attained  a 
lifelong  wish  in  the  establishment 
of  a  boys'  school  for  sopranos  and 
altos,  in  which  able  singers  are 
developed.  To  the  college  proper 
twenty-two  virtuosi  belong,  and 
of  these  nine  are  emerited.  Be- 
sides the  boys,  the  service  of  a 
large  number  of  other  singers  is 
requisitioned  for  all  performances 
of  the  Choir,  so  that  its  singing 
strength  is  about  one  hundred 
voices.  The  rich  archives  of  the  college  contain  a  large  number  of 
valuable  musical  works  by  the  most  famous  masters,  still  in  manu- 
script.   After  long  neglect,  these  have  been  now  put  in  proper  order. 

Whenever  the  Pope  takes  part  in  any  liturgical  celebration,  whether 
he  himself  pontificates  or  (for  example,  in  connection  with  a  Solemn 
Requiem)  undertakes  the  Absolution  of  the  Tumba,  it  is  the  right  and 
duty  of  the  prelates  entitled  to  sit  in  the  Court  of  the  Signatura  to  serve 
as  acolytes  and  candle-bearers.  They  also  present  the  censer  and  in- 
cense to  the  Pope  in  connection  with  the  incensing.  The  Auditors  of 
the  Court  of  the  Rota,  on  the  other  hand,  discharge  the  office  of  Apos- 
tolic Deacons.  Two  Clerics  of  the  Chapel,  as  they  are  known  ofTicially, 
act  as  the  clerics  on  such  occasions,  and  are  then  called  clerici  in  posto. 
Their  duties  extend  to  the  indirect  service  at  the  altar,  as  they  have  to 
see  that  all  things  necessary  for  the  altar  are  prepared.  In  the  four- 
teenth century  they  were  named  clerici  campananim,  because  they  had 
charge  of  the  bells  of  the  Apostolic  Palace. 

The  papal  processional  cross  has  been  represented  from  ancient 
times  as  one  possessing  three  cross-bars  of  diminishing  size  towards  the 
top.  A  papal  cross  of  this  fantastic  character  has  never  existed;  it  is  a 
pure  fiction.  The  processional  cross  consists  in  reality  of  a  plain  cruci- 
fix attached  to  a  staff.  There  is  a  special  college  of  clerics,  five  in  num- 
ber, who  fetch  the  cross  from  the  Throne  Room  when  it  is  required. 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


529 


and  guard  it  until  it  is  returned 
after  the  service.  Tliese  clerics  are 
known  as  the  Doorkeepers  with 
the  Red  Rod  (Magistri  Ostiarii  a 
Virga  Rubea).  As  their  name  in- 
dicates, they  formerly  discharged 
other  duties.  The  officiating  Mas- 
ter of  Ceremonies  always  gives 
them  the  signal  for  handing  the 
cross  to  the  appointed  Auditor  of 
the  Rota  to  carry,  and  later  for  re- 
ceiving it  back  again. 

Only  in  connection  with  solemn 
functions  undertaken  by  the  Pope 
or  performed  in  his  presence,  and 
with  the  ceremonies  of  the  Sacred 
College  during  a  vacancy  of  the 
Holy  See,  does  a  college  of  lay 
functionaries  participate  in  the 
services.       These     carry     silver-  Assistant  m  hu-  p^pai  Tiir„ne 

mounted  maces,  and  are  thus  known  as  Mazzieri  {Mazerii  Papce). 
Their  origin  dates  back  probably  to  the  Servientes  Armorum  (hench- 
men or  body-guard),  who  were  well-known  figures  in  the  Papal  Court 
during  the  Middle  Ages.  This  body  was  responsible  for  the  safety  of 
the  Pope  and  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces.  To-day  the  Mazzieri  are  en- 
trusted with  the  duty  of  guarding  the  entrance  to  the  quadrangle  in  the 
Sistine  Chapel  occupied  by  the  Sacred  College  during  solemn  services 
at  which  the  Pope  is  present.  They  have  also  to  escort  all  persons  who 
proceed  from  the  credence-table  near  the  altar  to  the  papal  throne. 
Two  Mazzieri  are  also  sent  to  episcopal  consecrations  in  Rome  to  clear 
a  path  for  the  new  bishop  through  the  crowd  during  the  singing  of  the 
Te  Deum,  and  thus  lend  a  special  dignity  to  the  occasion.  In  so  far  as 
the  duties  of  their  office  are  concerned,  the  Mazzieri  are  subject  to  the 
papal  masters  of  ceremonies;  in  all  other  things  they  are  subject  to  the 
Majordomo. 

In  the  long  list  of  personages  who  act  as  assistants  to  the  Pope  during 
solemn  services,  the  Prince  Assistant  at  the  Throne  occupies  an  office 
of  an  entirely  exceptional  nature.  His  official  title  is  Stator  Proximus 
a  Solio  Pontificis  Maximi.  He  stands  on  the  highest  step  of  the  throne, 
to  the  right  of  the  First  Deacon,  and  ranks  immediately  after  the  Vice- 
Chamberlain  of  the  Roman  Church,  but  before  the  prelates.  He  is 
incensed  during  the  incensing  of  the  choir,  and  receives  the  Kiss  of 


530  THE  VATICAN 

Peace.  When  the  papal  or  annual  medals  are  distributed,  the  Prince 
Assistant  receives  his  immediately  after  the  Cardinals  and  before  the 
ambassadors.  He  also  has  the  right  to  pour  water  over  the  Pope's 
fingers  at  the  washing  of  the  hands.  On  the  Feast  of  the  Purification 
two  large  candles  are  prepared,  one  for  the  Pope  and  the  other  for  the 
Prince  Assistant.  He  attends  functions  in  the  traditional  dress  of  the 
old  Roman  princes,  and  is  accompanied  by  his  Gentiluomo,  his  Maestro 
di  Camera,  and  other  servants  of  his  household.  From  the  above  re- 
marks it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  but  one  Prince  Assistant  at  any  func- 
tion. But  since  this  dignity  is  hereditary  in  both  the  Colonna  and  the 
Orsini  families  since  the  sixteenth  century,  the  heads  of  these  families 
have  to  perform  alternately  this  service  at  the  throne — when  they  can 
arrive  at  some  common  understanding  on  this  matter,  which  has  not 
always  been  the  case. 

Temporal  Administration.^ — Enough  has  been  said  above  to  enable 
the  reader  to  comprehend  how  unusually  great  and  diversified  is  the 
administration  of  the  Vatican  Palaces.  A  few  words  may  be  said  con- 
cerning the  origin  and  development  of  this  administration.  On  No- 
vember 1  of  the  stormy  year  1848  the  Pro-Secretary  of  State,  Cardinal 
Antonelli,  was  given  by  Pius  IX  the  supreme  supervision  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Palaces  under  the  title  of  Prefect,  and  continued  to  fill  this  office 
until  his  death.  When  Leo  XIII  a  little  later  succeeded  to  the  Fisher- 
man's throne,  he  issued,  under  date  of  December  11,  1880,  two  "Motus 
Proprii"  in  which  he  first  separated  the  Prefecture  of  the  Apostolic 
Palaces  from  the  administration  of  the  goods  of  the  Holy  See,  and  sec- 
ondly issued  exact  instructions  regarding  the  duties  of  the  Prefect.  The 
Secretary  of  State  is  now  Prefect  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces,  and  a  prelate 
is  Sub-Prefect.  With  the  exception  of  the  few  administrative  matters 
for  which  the  Majordomo  is  personally  responsible,  the  whole  admin- 
istration is  now  discharged  by  the  Prefecture.  At  regular  intervals  the 
heads  of  all  the  administrative  departments  assemble  in  congress  un- 
der the  presidency  of  the  Sub-Prefect,  and  then  all  matters  of  impor- 
tance are  discussed.  In  questions  of  special  importance  the  decision  is 
given  by  the  Cardinal  Prefect. 

The  most  important  person  in  the  household  administration  of  the 
Vatican  Palaces  is  undoubtedly  the  Maestro  di  Casa  (Magister  Domus). 
His  social  position  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  is  the  first  of  the  hon- 
orary Chamberlains  di  niimero.  The  staff  of  household  employes  are 
subject  to  him,  and  he  is  responsible  for  the  execution  of  all  orders 
connected  with  household  affairs.  As  in  innumerable  cases  he  comes 
into  contact  with  the  Italian  authorities,  he  possesses  their  procura 
(power  of  attorney)  for  the  signing  of  written  documents.    For  exam- 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


531 


Marchese  Clriniiitr  Sacchetti 
Fori  ere    Mat^t;i(>re 


pie,  when  a  present  is  sent  by  par- 
eel  post  to  the  Pope  from  Ger- 
many or  France,  it  is  delivered 
free  of  duty  at  the  palace  after  the 
Maestro  di  Casa  has  signed  the 
postal  receipt.  Again,  when  the 
palace  administration  places  large 
orders  for  building  materials  with 
foreign  firms,  these  are  delivered 
free  of  duty  to  the  Maestro  di  Casa. 
Should  it  be  decided  later  not  to 
use  some  of  this  material  for  the 
palace,  the  Italian  Board  of  Fi- 
nance is  informed  of  the  fact  and 
the  duty  paid  before  the  material 
is  sold;  for  only  those  things 
which  are  used  by  the  Pope  are 
duty  free.  In  the  Italian  Parlia- 
ment it  has  been  sometimes  in- 
sinuated that  the  Vatican  abuses 
this  right  to  tlie  detriment  of  the  Italian  exchequer.  The  libel  was  as 
often  sharply  stigmatized  by  the  Italian  ministry  as  pure  imagination; 
the  character  of  the  Maestro  di  Casa  was  so  completely  above  all  sus- 
picion that  such  an  insinuation  could  not  be  entertained  for  a  moment. 
The  above  regulation  is  rigidly  observed  on  the  part  of  the  Vatican 
authorities.  During  the  Conclave  the  Maestro  di  Casa,  besides  superin- 
tending the  material  administration,  must  provide  for  the  comfort  of 
the  assembled  Cardinals.  This  is  a  very  responsible  task,  since  many 
of  the  Cardinals  are  so  advanced  in  years  and  delicate  that  they  need 
special  care  and  attention.  While  in  earlier  times  this  office  was  mostly 
held  by  clerics,  it  is  now  filled  by  a  layman. 

In  so  far  as  the  household  administration  of  the  Vatican  is  concerned, 
the  Foriere  Maggiore  dei  Sacri  Palazzi  Apostolici  (Quartermaster- 
Major  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces)  is  the  next  official  after  the  Maestro  di 
Casa.  He  performs  a  number  of  the  latter's  duties  during  his  absence. 
This  very  ancient  office  was  reorganized  by  Sixtus  V  (1585-1590),  was 
made  lifelong,  and  was  given  its  present  name.  The  special  duty  of 
the  Foriere  Maggiore  is  to  superintend  the  buildings,  gardens,  water 
supply,  furniture,  magazines,  and  so  forth,  and  from  him  the  architect 
and  the  Sotto-Foriere  take  their  instructions. 

When  the  Pope  uses  the  portable  throne  {sedia  gestaforia),  this 
official  gives  the  order  for  its  raising  and  lowering,  and  is  responsible 


532  THE  VATICAN 

for  its  being  borne  quietly  and  securely.  The  servants,  who  are 
assigned  to  this  duty  only  after  long  training,  have  to  exercise  the  great- 
est care  lest  the  throne  should  sway  in  the  crowd  which  frequently 
presses  around  it  when  the  procession  turns  a  corner,  or  at  other  places 
where  progress  is  difficult.  As  any  rocking  of  the  throne  might  easily 
give  the  Pope  a  feeling  of  vertigo  or  be  the  cause  of  some  other  indis- 
position, this  duty  of  the  Quartermaster-Major  is  an  extraordinarily 
responsible  one.  Inasmuch  as  the  Holy  Father  is  invariably  a  man 
of  advanced  years,  the  greatest  precaution  and  care  are  necessary. 
When  we  stand  among  the  spectators  and  watch  the  Pope  borne  past 
us,  it  is  only  with  great  difficulty  that  we  can  realize  how  little  enviable 
is  his  position — no  more  enviable,  in  fact,  than  that  of  his  bearers. 
Immediately  before  him  the  Pope  beholds  the  advancing  line  of  the 
pontifical  procession;  to  the  left  and  right  crowd  excited  throngs  who 
can  with  great  difficulty  restrain  themselves  from  greeting  the  beloved 
Father  with  loud  exclamations.  A  mere  tritle  under  some  exciting 
circumstance  may  cause  a  venerable,  white-haired  priest  uneasiness 
or  even  illness.  We  thus  see  that  this  side  of  the  Pope's  public  life,  at 
first  sight  so  glorious  and  inspiring,  is  associated  with  no  little  anxiety. 
In  contrast  to  Leo  XHI,  Pope  Pius  X  avoided  the  sedia  gestatoria  when- 
ever possible,  since  he  always  felt  a  predisposition  towards  vertigo 
when  borne  along  above  the  heads  of  the  crowd. 

The  papal  stables  and  everything  connected  therewith  are  under  the 
charge  of  the  Chief  Equerry  (Cavallerizzo  Maggiore),  whose  period 
of  office  closes  with  the  death  of  the  Pope.  The  succeeding  Pope,  how- 
ever, almost  invariably  reappoints  the  old  equerry.  As  the  third  of  the 
Privy  Chamberlains  di  numero,  the  Chief  Equerry  is  one  of  the  highest 
officers  of  the  household.  Since  the  time  of  Leo  XII  (1823-1829)  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Administrative  Commission  of  the  Apostolic 
Palaces.  As  the  number  of  horses  kept  for  the  Noble  Guard  and  the 
higher  court  officials  has  been  greatly  reduced  by  Pius  X,  the  duties 
of  the  Chief  Equerry  are  no  longer  very  extensive.  The  Pope's  coach- 
man and  also  his  postillion  and  the  grooms  receive  their  orders  from 
the  Chief  Equerry.  The  state  coaches  of  earlier  times  were  formerly 
kept  where  the  new  Picture  Gallery  now  stands.  They  were  then  trans- 
ferred to  a  large  vault  in  the  Cortile  di  Belvedere,  where  they  can  now 
be  viewed  by  visitors.  Since  the  automobile  has  already  gained  en- 
trance into  the  Vatican,  the  number  of  horses  is  destined  to  decline 
still  lower.  When  the  Pope  rides  in  a  closed  carriage,  the  latter  is 
provided  with  a  hammer-cloth  and  footman's  step;  both  of  the  latter 
are  omitted  when  he  rides  in  an  open  carriage.  A  number  of  the  higher 
officials  have  a  carriage  at  their  disposal  when  they  wish  to  drive  out 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


533 


on  official  business.  A  papal  carriage  fetches  all  Chamberlains  when 
their  services  are  required,  and  conveys  them  home  again  at  the  end 
of  the  functions.  On  the  occasion  of  great  festivities,  when  the  services 
of  thirty  or  forty  ecclesiastical  and  lay  Chamberlains  are  needed,  the 
problem  of  providing  sufficient  equipages  is  solved  by  hiring  public 
vehicles.  All  night  long  a  papal  carriage  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  con- 
fraternity whicli  undertakes  the  vigil  during  the  night  hours  of  the 
Forty  Hours'  Devotion. 


Thr  I'lirlaiiliii:!  nl    I'Dpr  I. en  XIII 

The  Marshal  of  Papal  Journeys  has  for  his  official  title  Soprainten- 
dente  Generate  alle  Poste — which  literally  means  General  Superinten- 
dent of  the  Posts.  This  title  has  often  given  rise  to  misunderstanding, 
as  some  believed  this  official  to  be  a  kind  of  postmaster-general.  This 
is,  of  course,  quite  erroneous.  The  Princes  Massimo,  in  whose  fam- 
ily this  office  is  hereditary,  have  never  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
letter  post;  their  office  was  to  attend  to  the  "posts"  in  the  old 
meaning  of  the  word — that  is,  to  provide  the  things  necessary  for 
the  continuation  of  a  journey.  Before  the  building  of  railroads,  this 
official  performed  a  most  important  function  when  the  Pope  undertook 
a  journey.  From  its  very  nature,  it  is  evident  that  the  office  must  have 
been  in  existence  from  the  very  earliest  time,  since  provision  had 


534 


THE  VATICAN 


Marchese  Serlupi 
Cavallcrizzo  Maggiore 


always  to  be  made  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  duties  connected 
with  it.  For  when  the  Curia  pro- 
ceeded from  one  place  to  another, 
there  was  always,  as  it  were,  a 
small  "migration  of  nations."  The 
account-hooks  in  our  possession, 
(latini-  from  the  reign  of  Clement 
V  downwards,  give  us  an  accurate 
idea  of  the  extent  and  importance 
of  the  preparations  which  were 
necessary  when  the  Pope,  the  Car- 
dinals, the  Court  and  Church  offi- 
cials, the  Curial  tribunals,  and  all 
the  other  persons  in  the  papal 
retinue  decided  to  move  to  an- 
other city.  All  necessity  for  such 
preparations  has  now  ceased.  The 
Pope  is  a  prisoner  in  the  Vatican, 
and  all  thought  of  travelling  is 
past.  But  the  Marshal  of  Papal  Journeys  is  still  entered  in  the  calendars 
of  the  Curia,  because  in  Rome  important  offices  of  the  past  are  still  held 
in  honor.  The  successive  Princes  of  the  Massimo  family  attend  all 
court  festivals  and  all  religious  functions,  clad  in  their  beautiful  uni- 
form, and  thus  impart  additional  color  to  the  picture  of  the  Papal  Court. 

What  has  been  just  said  applies  also  to  the  Marchese  Naro  Patrizi 
Montoro,  the  hereditary  Gonfalonier  (Banner-bearer)  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Church.  He  enjoys  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general  and  wears 
the  uniform  of  the  Noble  Guard.  The  origin  of  this  purely  military 
office  must  be  traced  to  the  Crusades  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Accord- 
ing to  the  exigencies  of  the  lime,  first  this  and  then  that  prince  was 
named  banner-bearer  until  Pope  Urban  VHI  (1623-1644)  appointed  the 
Marchese  Naro  to  the  office.  Even  after  this  family  merged  with  the 
Patrizi,  the  honorable  distinction  descended  from  father  to  son,  and 
has  now  become  a  vested  right. 

Financial  Position  of  the  Vatican. — The  writer  has  received  many 
dozens  of  letters  from  friends  and  acquaintances,  asking  him  to  secure 
early  for  them  a  place  in  the  Sistine  Chapel  for  the  ceremonies  of  Holy 
Week.  To  all  these  letters  only  one  answer  could  be  given,  namely, 
that  the  world-famous  functions  in  the  Sistine  Chapel  have  ceased  to 
be  held  since  1<S70.  This  fact  should  be  generally  known,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  such  is  not  the  case.     Since  the  incorporation  of  the 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  535 

Papal  States  in  the  Kiiii^dom  of  Italy,  everything  has  been  discontinued 
except  the  absolutely  indispensable.  The  feasts  which  were  celebrated 
in  regular  succession  by  the  Pope  in  the  churches  of  Rome  could,  in 
view  of  the  existing  circumstances,  no  longer  be  thus  celebrated.  And 
the  other  celebrations  also  were  either  abolished  or  essentially  simpli- 
fied.   These  regulations  were  partly  the  expression  of  public  mourning 


Papal  State  Coach 

at  the  persecution  of  the  Church,  and  were  partly  necessitated  by 
changed  financial  conditions  which  demanded  simplification. 

Since  the  Popes  have  never  accepted  the  annual  allowance  of  3,225,- 
000  lire  made  by  the  Italian  Government,  although  the  revenue  from 
the  Papal  States  was  irretrievably  lost,  they  have  been  compelled  to 
rely  exclusively  on  the  generosity  of  the  faithful.  Under  the  venerable 
name  of  Peter's  Pence,  pious  offerings  are  collected  throughout  the 
Catholic  world  to  enable  the  Pope  to  meet  the  cost  of  the  central  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church.  Since  its  resources  are  thus  entirely  dependent 
on  voluntary  offerings,  the  Holy  See  can  never  know  wdiat  the  morrow 
may  bring,  or  whether  a  certain  large  expenditure,  if  made,  will  be 
covered  by  the  receipts  from  Peter's  Pence.    The  collections,  especially 


536  THE  VATICAN 

in  France,  produced  sufficient  funds  to  enable  the  Holy  See,  by  eco- 
nomical management  in  every  department,  to  meet  all  its  most  impor- 
tant needs;  but,  after  the  separation  of  Church  and  State  had  compelled 
French  Catholics  to  provide  personally  for  all  the  ecclesiastical  needs 
of  their  own  country,  the  Peter's  Pence  collection  naturally  declined  in 
France.  To  compensate  for  this  loss,  Germany  especially,  and  also 
other  countries,  made  special  and  very  acceptable  efforts  to  come  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Holy  Father.  In  the  United  States,  also,  this  voluntary 
self-taxation  of  Catholics  is  extending  each  year. 

The  Popes  practise  the  strictest  economy  in  their  own  household,  hi 
their  appropriations  for  the  multiform  objects  of  the  Holy  See,  and,  in 
short,  in  everything  where  economy  is  possible.  When,  however,  im- 
portant religious  issues  are  at  stake,  they  know  no  parsimony,  but  give 
freely  to  the  fullest  extent  necessary.  The  artistic  and  scientiiic  in- 
heritance of  the  past,  into  which  they  have  entered,  is  administered  by 
them  with  such  loving  zeal,  and  they  have  been  so  successful  in  fmding 
the  necessary  means  for  fostering  modern  development  in  the  same 
fields,  that  even  their  critics  must  admit  that,  in  the  fulfilment  of  this 
important  cultural  duty,  they  have  never  been  found  wanting.  In  the 
chapters  of  this  work  which  deal  with  the  Vatican  Library,  the  Picture 
Gallery,  the  Observatory,  the  Museums,  and  so  forth,  every  reader  will 
find  the  proof  of  this  statement.  Even  in  their  poverty,  the  Popes  have 
ever  been  the  fosterers  of  art  and  science.  And  in  this  matter,  just  as 
when  in  the  face  of  a  great  calamity  ie.  g.,  the  earthquake  in  Sicily  and 
Calabria)  they  have  thrown  all  dictates  of  thrift  to  the  winds  and  come 
forward  with  an  immense  contribution  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers, 
they  show  only  their  implicit  confidence  in  the  Catholic  spirit  of  sacri- 
fice, which  will  never  fail  them  in  time  of  need. 

A  special  Commission  of  Cardinals  administers  the  Peter's  Pence 
and  the  goods  of  the  Holy  See.  This  commission  consists  of  seven  Car- 
dinals with  a  prelate  as  secretary.  The  bookkeepers,  cashiers,  and 
other  employes  are  laymen.  The  offices  are  situated  on  the  third  floor 
on  the  Cortiie  di  S.  Damaso.  For  the  material  side  of  the  administra- 
tion of  the  ecclesiastical  bodies  of  Rome  there  is  another  Commission, 
which  has  a  Cardinal  for  president  and  a  prelate  for  vice-president. 
This  department,  which  is  an  innovation  of  Pius  X,  is  also  located  in 
the  Vatican  Palace,  and  has  proved  very  successful.  It  was  character- 
istic of  all  the  activities  of  Pius  X  that  he  finally  replaced  antiquated  by 
modern  and  efficient  administrative  methods.  The  progress  made 
during  his  reign,  compared  with  that  of  preceding  decades,  was  so  strik- 
ing that  it  is  very  easy  to  see  how  much  more  economical  and  efficient 
was  his  administration. 


Prince  Massimo 
Grand  Master  of  the  Posts 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  537 

Papal  Army. — The  Swiss  Guard  is  by 
far  the  most  important  military  body  in 
the  service  of  the  Pope.  Besides  guard- 
ing the  exterior  entrances  to  the  palace, 
the  Swiss  Guard  is  entrusted  with  the 
honorable  duty  of  guarding  the  imme- 
diate entrance  to  the  papal  chambers  in 
theSala  Clementina.  Furthermore.mem 
bers  of  the  Guard  are  posted  in  various 
parts  of  the  palace,  day  and  night,  all 
serving  immediately  or  remotely  for  the 
same  purpose  of  guarding  the  Pope.  The 
special  work  of  the  Swiss  Guard  is  thus 
to  guard  the  sacred  person  of  the  Pontiff 
and  also  to  keep  watch  over  the  Apos- 
tolic Palaces.  In  accordance  with  an  old 
tradition,  they  participate  in  all  pon- 
tifical functions  at  which  His  Holiness  is 
present,  but  at  the  order  of  the  Prefect 
of  the  Palace,  the  Majordomo,  or  the 
Maestro  di  Camera,  have  also  to  appear  on  other  occasions.  In  public 
processions  they  take  their  place  immediately  behind  the  Noble 
Guard,  as  directed  by  the  official  regulations.  When  the  Holy  Father 
is  borne  in  the  portable  throne  (sedia  geslaforia),  the  latter  is  sur- 
rounded by  six  Swiss  Guards  carrying  their  large  two-handed  swords. 
We  may  thus  see  the  extraordinary  honors  enjoyed  by  the  Swiss  Guard, 
as  well  as  the  great  responsibility  of  their  duties. 

The  origin  of  the  Papal  Swiss  Guard  extends  back  to  the  fifteenth 
century.  Their  position  was  secured  by  treaty  under  Julius  II  (1503- 
1513),  who,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Swiss  Cardinal  Schinner,  entered 
into  an  agreement  with  the  Cantons  of  Zurich  and  Lucerne,  in  accor- 
dance with  which  these  cantons  undertook  to  supply  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men  as  a  body-guard  for  the  Pope.  Since  then  the  Pope  has  always 
had  around  him  a  corps  of  Swiss  Guards,  although  in  the  course  of 
time  their  number  has  been  reduced  and  the  conditions  of  their  service 
have  changed. 

When  the  corps  is  at  full  strength  it  has  the  following  officers,  all  of 
whom  rank  three  degrees  higher  than  their  titles  indicate:  one  captain, 
one  lieutenant,  one  second  lieutenant,  one  chaplain,  one  quartermaster, 
one  judge,  one  esente,  four  sergeants,  seven  corporals,  two  turnkeys, 
and  two  drummers. 

The  members  of  the  Swiss  Guard  are  called  halberdiers,  because  they 


538  THE  VATICAN 

carry  halberds  on  solemn  occasions.  Their  number  exceeds  half  a 
hundred,  but  varies  considerably  at  times  owing  to  retirements  and 
recruiting.  The  general  (jualilications  demanded  in  recruits  are  that 
they  be  Swiss  citizens,  Catholics,  born  in  wedlock,  unmarried,  under 
twenty-five  years,  .1.74  metres  tall  in  their  stockings,  healthy  and  free 
from  bodily  defects.  Men  unfit  for  military  service  in  Switzerland  are 
ineligible  for  the  Swiss  Guard.  Any  member  may  leave  the  Swiss  Guard 
at  pleasure,  after  giving  two  months'  notice  to  the  commander.  After 
eighteen  years'  service  each  member  is  entitled  to  a  pension  for  life 
amounting  to  half  his  pay;  after  twenty  years  this  pension  amounts 
to  two-thirds;  after  twenty-five  years  to  five-sixths,  and  after  thirty 
years  to  his  full  pay. 

The  chaplain  of  the  Swiss  Guard  has  to  celebrate  the  usual  services 
in  the  little  Church  of  S.  Martino,  which  has  been  assigned  to  the 
Guard  and  lies  near  their  quarters.  It  is  also  his  duty  to  assist  the  mem- 
bers of  the  corps  in  all  their  needs  and  troubles,  and  to  take  a  fatherly 
interest  in  their  welfare.  In  a  special  audience  granted  to  the  chaplain 
each  year,  the  Pope  renews  the  great  spiritual  privileges  granted  to  the 
Guard. 

If  on  solemn  occasions  the  Swiss  Guard,  who  surround  the  sedia 
gestatoria  on  which  His  Holiness  is  borne,  awaken  our  interest  with 
their  full  harness  and  huge  two-handed  swords,  that  interest  is  greatly 
increased  by  the  scarlet  uniforms  of  the  Noble  Guard,  their  white 
leather  breeches,  top-boots,  long  white  gloves,  shoulder-belts,  and 
helmets  with  plumes  and  horsetails.  The  Noble  Guard  follow  the  Pope 
when  he  appears  in  public,  and  later  withdraw  with  him,  since  they  are 
specially  summoned  for  the  protection  of  his  sacred  person. 

The  Noble  Guard  of  to-day  trace  their  origin  from  the  Cavalleggieri, 
a  kind  of  body-guard  which  w^as  reorganized  by  Benedict  XIV  in  1744, 
and  received  new  regulations  as  to  service  and  rank  from  Leo  XIII. 
With  the  exception  of  the  quartermaster,  the  equerry,  the  four  trum- 
peters, and  the  master-at-arms,  all  the  members  of  the  Guard  must  be 
of  noble  birth.  Their  captain,  who  is  always  a  Roman  prince,  holds  the 
rank  of  lieutenant-general,  and  the  other  officers  rank  correspond- 
ingly. The  privates  in  this  Guard  hold  the  rank  of  captain.  A  detail 
of  the  Guard  render  service  daily  in  the  Antechamber,  where  they  stand 
sentry  at  the  door  leading  to  the  Privy  Antechamber.  Taking  the  place 
of  the  earlier  cabinet  couriers,  they  enjoy  the  right  of  carrying  the 
news  of  their  elevation  to  the  cardinalate  to  prelates  residing  outside 
Italy,  and  of  delivering  to  the  latter,  at  their  residence,  the  red  skull-cap 
ipileolus,  ziicchelto).  The  captain,  whose  appointment  depends,  not 
on  length  of  service,  but  on  the  free  choice  of  the  Pope  (whether  the 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  539 

person  favored  has  previously  belonged  to  the  Noble  Guard  or  not), 
receives  on  his  appointment  the  highest  papal  decoration — the  Order 
of  Christ.  Besides  evidence  of  nobility,  the  applicant  for  admission 
to  the  Noble  Guard  must  submit  proof  of  his  good  conduct  through 
testimonials  from  his  pastor  and  bishop;  he  must  not  be  over  twenty- 
five  or  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  must  be  at  least  1.72  metres 
in  height.  The  acceptance  or  refusal  of  an  applicant  is  decided  by  a 
mixed  commission.  A  Guard  must  procure  the  consent  of  the  com- 
mander before  marrving,  and  produce  evidence  that  his  proposed  bride 


IMatoon  of  the  Swiss  Guard  in  Old  Uniform 

possesses  an  adequate  dowry.  During  a  vacancy  of  the  Papal  See  the 
Noble  Guard  is  subject  to  the  College  of  Cardinals,  which  communi- 
cates its  instructions  to  the  captain  through  the  Cardinal  Camerlengo. 
The  custom  of  having  a  picket  of  the  Noble  Guard  escort  the  papal 
carriage  on  horseback  has  been  discontinued  for  the  time,  but  not  abol- 
ished. Since  under  present  conditions  the  service  rendered  by  the 
Noble  Guard  is  almost  exclusively  honorary,  their  purely  military 
training  is  no  longer  so  strictly  insisted  on. 

When  the  pontifical  procession  of  the  Pope  descends  to  St.  Peter's 
for  a  canonization,  we  may  see  a  third  division  of  the  papal  military 
lining  the  entire  path  traversed.  This  is  the  Palace  or  Palatine  Guard. 
Pius  IX  united  the  forces  of  the  civici  scelti  and  the  capotori  into  one 
corps,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  Guardia  Palatina  d'Onore  (Palatine 


Colonel  Commander  Repond 
of  the  Swiss  Guard 


540  THE  VATICAN 

Guard  of  Honor).  The  ordinances 
of  December  14, 1850,  declared  ex- 
pressly that  no  new  institution 
was  contemplated,  but  merely  a 
reorganization  of  existing  condi- 
tions. From  the  regiments  re- 
cruited in  1860,  four  companies  of 
eighty  men  each  were  formed  in 
1870,' after  the  fall  of  the  Papal 
States.  Inasmuch  as  they  belong 
to  a  corps  of  Guards,  the  officers 
enjoy  a  rank  one  grade  higher 
than  their  name  indicates.  The 
lieutenant-colonel  in  command 
thus  has  the  rank  of  colonel,  and 
the  other  officers  rank  accord- 
ingly. While  the  Swiss  Guard  has 
for  its  task  the  guarding  of  the 
Pope's  person,  the  Palatine  Guard 
is  devoted  to  the  service  of  the 
Pope,  In  so  far  as  their  duties  are  concerned,  they  are  subject  to  the 
Prefect  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces  and  the  Majordomo.  Again,  while  the 
Noble  and  Swiss  Guards  are  soldiers  by  profession,  the  Palatine  Guards 
are  recruited  from  the  Roman  burgesses,  and  are  summoned  in  turn  to 
render  service  in  the  Antechamber  and  in  connection  with  the  more 
important  festivals.  Furthermore,  unlike  the  other  corps,  the  Palatine 
Guards  receive  no  pay  other  than  a  yearly  allowance  for  the  main- 
tenance of  their  uniform.  The  Palatine  Guard  guards  the  Conclave 
during  its  sessions,  and  then  takes  its  orders  from  the  hereditary  Mar- 
shal of  the  Conclave,  Prince  Chigi.  While  performing  this  duty,  a 
company  of  Guards  occupies  the  Cortile  del  Maresciallo,  being  thus 
stationed  where  the  Marshal  has  his  headquarters. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Noble  Guard  renders  service  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  Holy  Father,  that  the  Swiss  Guard  is  entrusted  with  the 
guardianship  of  the  person  and  dwelling  of  the  Pope,  and  that  the 
Palatine  Guard  is  a  guard  of  honor  in  the  papal  service.  When  we 
remember  that  the  interior  of  the  Vatican  Palace,  with  its  huge  dimen- 
sions and  numerous  inmates,  and  the  Vatican  Gardens  cannot  be  left 
unguarded,  the  necessity  of  a  police  force  sufficiently  numerous  to 
undertake  this  responsible  duty  becomes  evident.  The  official  title  of 
this  body  is  Gendarmeria  Pontificia  addetta  ai  Sacri  Palazzi  Apostolici 
(Papal  Gendarmes  assigned  to  the  Sacred  Apostolic  Palaces). 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


541 


Shortly  after  his  triumphant 
return  from  imprisonment  in 
France,  Pope  Pius  VII  (1800- 
1823)  organized  a  select  body  of 
police  under  the  name  of  Carabi- 
nieri  Pontifici  (Papal  Carbineers). 
By  decree  of  February  16,  1850, 
their  name  was  changed  to  Veliti. 
After  retaining  this  title  for  only 
two  years,  they  were  given  their 
present  title  of  Papal  Gendarmes. 
They  discharge  the  duties  of  both 
court  attendants  and  police.  As 
court  attendants  the  Gendarmes 
render  the  service  proper  to  their 
position  in  the  Antechamber.  One 
of  the  papal  reception  rooms  is 
named  after  them,  as  already 
stated,  because  a  small  body  of 

r^  -I  "         p     11      J „ If,  .,,-.-.  Captain  of  the  Swiss  Guard 

Gendarmes  m  lull-dress  unitorm 

with  high  busbies  are  stationed  there  on  solemn  occasions.  As  a  police 
corps,  the  Gendarmes  are  entrusted  with  the  guarding  of  the  palace  and 
the  patrolling  of  the  Vatican  Gardens,  a  duty  which  they  perform  day 
and  night.  One  division  of  Gendarmes  is  accommodated  in  the  quar- 
ters of  the  Swiss  Guard  in  the  Torrione  di  Niccolo  V,  but  the  remainder 
dwell  in  their  own  barracks  in  the  Vatican  Gardens.  They  are  all  up- 
right men  of  good  bearing.  They  must  have  had  an  untarnished  record 
in  the  Italian  cavalry,  and  must  produce  unexceptionable  testimonials 
from  the  spiritual  and  secular  authorities  of  their  native  town.  Like 
the  Swiss  Guard,  they  also  have  a  band,  which  frequently  gives  a  con- 
cert in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso.  The  strict  discipline  maintained  in  the 
corps  insures  the  conscientious  fulfilment  of  its  duties. 

Every  forenoon  a  division  of  the  Gendarmes,  under  the  command 
of  an  officer,  is  stationed  in  service  uniform  in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso. 
These  inquire  into  the  business  and  identity  of  every  visitor  and  give 
him  whatever  directions  are  necessary  to  reach  his  destination.  Should 
his  answers  be  unsatisfactory,  a  Gendarme  is  assigned  to  escort  the 
visitor,  and  accompanies  him  until  convinced  of  the  truth  of  his  state- 
ments. The  duties  of  the  Gendarmes  do  not  bring  them  into  contact 
with  the  outside  world,  since  the  Swiss  Guards,  as  already  explained, 
guard  all  doors  and  gates  leading  to  the  city. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  of  the  four  military  corps  which  render 


542 


THE  VATICAN 


-1^" 


Sergeant   Banner-bearer 
of  the  Swiss  Guard 


service  in  the  Vatican,  the  Swiss 
Guard  would  have  to  bear  the  iirst 
shock  of  an  attack  on  the  Palace, 
since  to  them  is  entrusted  the  de- 
fence of  the  entrances.  The  Gen- 
darmes, all  of  whom  are  quartered 
in  the  palace  or  the  Gardens, 
would  be  the  second  line  of  de- 
fence. It  is  unlikely  that  the 
Palatine  Guard,  consisting  of 
Roman  burgesses  who  dwell  in  the 
city,  could  arrive  in  lime  to  render 
much  assistance.  Of  the  Noble 
Guard,  also,  probably  only  a  very 
few  would  be  found  in  their  quar- 
ters on  the  Cortile  del  Maresciallo, 
unless  they  had  been  summoned 
beforehand. 

In  view  of  the  possibility  of  a 
sudden  attack  on  the  Vatican  by  the 
anti-clerical  factions,  the  commander  of  the  Swiss  Guard  has  provided 
his  men  with  the  most  modern  weapons,  and  the  necessary  ammuni- 
tion has  been  procured.  Hand-grenades  have  also  been  prepared.  An 
exhaustive  study  of  the  strategical  possibilities  of  the  palace  has  re- 
sulted in  a  plan  according  to  which  certain  portions,  which  could  not 
be  held  with  the  forces  at  the  disposal  of  the  Vatican  officers,  would  be 
evacuated  immediately.  The  other  portions  could  be  successfully 
defended  for  a  long  period  until  help  would  arrive  from  the  Italian 
Government  or  the  better-disposed  citizens.  It  is  certain  that  before  an 
enemy  could  cross  the  threshold  of  the  Bronze  Gate  or  of  any  other 
entrance  included  in  the  plan  of  defence,  the  last  member  of  the  Swiss 
Guard  would  shed  his  blood  in  defence  of  the  Pope,  and  sell  his  life 
dearly.  The  reorganization  of  the  Swiss  Guard  has  made  it  a  highly 
capable  military  corps,  every  member  of  which  is  fully  conscious  both 
of  the  honor  of  his  position  and  of  the  accompanying  responsibility. 
Wi\\\  the  active  support  of  the  other  corps,  in  so  far  as  they  can  be 
mustered  in  case  of  a  sudden  attack,  it  will  always  be  able  to  with- 
stand successfully  the  fust  onset  of  any  fanatical  mob.  It  should  be 
here  remarked  that  various  uprisings  against  the  Vatican  have  been 
attempted  in  the  past,  but  the  authorities  have  hitherto  succeeded  in 
nipping  all  such  attempts  in  the  bud,  so  that  nothing  serious  resulted. 

Any  person,  therefore,  who  entertains  the  idea  that  the  Vatican  sol- 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


543 


Sergeant  of  the  Swiss  Guard 


diery  are  a  body  of  no  importance, 
labors  under  a  serious  mistake.  In 
the  lirst  place,  he  completely  loses 
sight  of  the  above-mentioned  pos- 
sibility of  an  anti-clerical  assault 
on  the  Vatican,  and,  in  the  second 
place,  forgets  that  so  huge  a  palace 
needs  careful  guarding,  both 
within  and  without,  if  disorder  or 
happenings  still  more  serious  are 
to  be  avoided.  Undoubtedly,  the 
Pope  would  not  bear  the  heavy 
cost  of  maintaining  this  armed 
force  if  he  w^ere  not  quite  con- 
vinced of  its  expediency,  and  even 
its  absolute  necessity.  The  eccle- 
siastical, scientific,  and  artistic  in- 
terests of  the  Vatican,  of  which 
the  Pope  is  the  guardian,  are  of 
such  world-wide  importance  that 
he  may  neglect  no  precaution  in  taking  measures  for  their  protection. 

Legal  Position  of  the  Vatican. — The  above  remarks  may  lead  many 
readers  to  ask  the  question:  What  is  the  exact  legal  position  of  the 
Vatican  at  present,  surrounded  as  it  is  by  Italian  territory  and  possess- 
ing no  free  outlet  to  other  countries? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  furnished  by  the  Law  of  Guarantees 
of  May  13,  1871.  When  the  Piedmontese  entered  Rome  through  the 
breach  in  the  Porta  Pia  on  September  20,  1870,  they  seized  immediately 
all  the  possessions  of  the  Papal  States,  whereupon  the  independent  exis- 
tence of  these  States  came  to  an  end.  Pius  IX,  who  had  resided  earlier  in 
the  Quirinal  Palace,  then  occupied  the  Vatican.  Halting  before  the  Vati- 
can, and  abstaining  also  from  occupying  the  Lateran,  the  victors  pro- 
ceeded to  study  the  question  of  the  legal  position  of  the  Pope  under  the 
new  conditions.  Although  the  Franco-Prussian  War  then  held  the  world 
in  suspense,  the  new  masters  of  Rome  fully  realized  how  deep  and 
wide-spread  a  commotion  their  step  had  caused  both  among  the  Catho- 
lics of  the  world  and  among  the  Powders.  Prompt  action  was  therefore 
indispensable  before  concerted  steps  could  be  taken  to  give  expression 
to  the  general  feeling  of  disapprobation.  After  long  negotiations,  the 
Italian  authorities  decided  upon  the  draft  of  a  law  which  was  to  guar- 
antee the  position  of  the  Pope  as  the  supreme  head  of  the  Catholic 
Church.    In  the  extended  discussions  in  the  Italian  Chambers  the  inten- 


544 


THE  VATICAN 


^-    .^-^ 


Swiss  Guard 


tions  of  the  Government  were 
fully  explained  by  its  representa- 
tives, so  that  the  character  of  the 
law  executed  by  Victor  Emmanuel 
on  May  13  was  established  beyond 
possible  doubt:  (1)  The  law  had 
for  its  basis,  not  Italian,  but  inter- 
national law;  (2)  consequently,  all 
alteration  of  this  law  at  any  future 
date  by  the  Italian  legislature, 
without  consulting  the  Vatican, 
was  excluded;  (3)  the  law  thus 
became  binding  for  the  Italian 
Government,  regardless  of  the  fact 
whether  it  was  recognized  or  not 
by  the  other  party  as  of  valid  ori- 
gin; (4)  the  Italian  State  bound 
itself  so  completely  that  only  by 
an  act  of  violence,  in  violation  of 
an  international  public  obligation 
voluntarily  undertaken,  can  it  alter  any  portion  orthe  whole  of  this  law. 

This  interpretation,  the  correctness  of  which  has  been  so  often  dem- 
onstrated in  long  legal  argumentations,  is  accepted  by  all  respon- 
sible Italian  statesmen.  This,  however,  does  not  deter  the  anti-clericals 
from  incessantly  demanding  the  abrogation  of  the  law,  and  from 
making  it  the  chief  issue  of  their  programme  to  bring  the  Pope  under 
the  Italian  law.  But  so  long  as  a  government  which  appreciates  its 
responsibilities  stands  at  the  wheel  of  state  in  Italy,  there  can  be  no  fear 
that  their  demand  will  be  given  serious  consideration.  Under  present 
political  conditions  it  is  evident  that,  to  avoid  foreign  complications, 
the  Italian  Minister  for  Foreign  Atfairs  would  be  the  first  to  offer  the 
most  strenuous  opposition  to  any  measure  aimed  at  making  a  preju- 
dicial alteration  in  the  legal  position  of  the  Pope.  Thus,  despite  the 
hubbub  raised  by  the  Socialists,  Italian  statesmen  are  convinced  that 
in  this  matter  it  is  wisest  to  pay  heed  to  the  principle:  Quieta  non 
movere  (Let  well  enough  alone). 

It  may  be  asked  what  are  the  special  provisions  of  the  Law  of  Guar- 
antees. In  the  first  place,  the  Italian  State  undertakes  to  pay  to  the 
Pope  a  yearly  sum  of  3,225,000  lire  ($650,000).  Should  no  claim  be 
entered  for  this  sum,  it  is  allowed  to  accumulate  for  five  years  and  then 
reverts  to  the  Italian  exchequer.  Although  the  sum  has  never  been 
claimed  by  the  Pope,  it  is  still  included  w  ithout  debate  in  each  annual 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


545 


Swiss  Guard  in  Old  Uniform 


Budget.  Supposing  a  claim  should 
now  be  entered  for  the  payment 
of  this  money,  would  the  Italian 
State  be  obliged  to  pay  all  the  ar- 
rears since  1871?  It  appears  that 
it  would  undoubtedly  have  to  do 
so,  since  the  ordinance  providing 
that  the  sum  voted  should  revert 
to  the  Treasury  each  live  years  is 
merely  a  matter  of  linancial  ex- 
pediency which  cannot  affect  the 
legal  claim  of  the  Pope  to  the 
money  guaranteed  him. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Law 
of  Guarantees  provides  that  the 
palaces  of  the  Vatican  and  the 
Lateran,  and  also  the  summer  resi- 
dence of  Castel  Gandolfo,  shall  be 
extra-territorial.  This  means  that 
the  Italian  Government  may  exer- 
cise no  authority  whatever  in  these  places;  its  powers  end  at  the  gates  of 
these  buildings.  They  cannot  subpoena  or  tax  any  person  in  the  papal 
service.    In  these  palaces  the  Pope  rules  as  an  independent  sovereign. 

In  the  third  place,  the  Law  of  Guarantees  gives  the  Pope  the  right  to 
receive  accredited  ambassadors  and  envoys  from  all  powers  with 
which  he  desires  to  cultivate  diplomatic  relations.  Of  this  right  he  has 
always  availed  himself,  so  that  there  are  in  Rome  two  diplomatic  corps 
— one  accredited  to  the  Quirinal  (where  the  King  lives),  and  the  other 
to  the  Vatican.  As  a  consequence,  the  Italian  Government  must  con- 
cede to  these  Vatican  diplomats  and  their  residences  all  the  privileges 
granted  to  the  persons  and  residences  of  diplomats  throughout  the 
entire  civilized  world.  Again,  the  Italian  Government  can  never  pre- 
vent the  Pope  from  accrediting  at  pleasure  his  diplomats — for  example, 
his  nuncios  of  the  first  and  second  classes,  his  internuncios,  apostolic 
delegates,  and  resident  ministers.  From  these  facts  and  considerations 
it  is  beyond  denial  that,  no\v  as  earlier,  the  Pope  is  a  sovereign  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word.  When  Bismarck  addressed  his  famous  letter 
to  Leo  XIII,  referring  to  him  the  settlement  of  the  dispute  between 
Germany  and  Spain  over  the  Caroline  Islands,  he  addressed  the  Pope 
as  "Sire"— a  term  which  is  used  only  when  addressing  sovereigns. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  Italian  State  is  bound  to  send  free  to  every 
part  of  the  w^orld  all  official  telegrams  of  the  Pope  and  the  Holy  See, 


546 


THE  VATICAN 


I 


Noble  Guard  of  His  Holiness 


whenever  these  are  provided  with 
the  stamp  of  the  Secretariate  of 
State.  All  letters  posted  in  Italy 
are  delivered  free  to  the  Pope. 

The  other  less  important  pro- 
visions of  the  law  may  be  passed 
over  here,  inasmuch  as  the  Pope 
has  never  recognized  the  law  as  of 
valid  origin.  The  Italian  Govern- 
ment, however,  has  repeatedly 
declared  that  it  regards  itself 
bound  by  every  provision  of  the 
Law  of  Guarantees. 

In  the  seventies  of  the  last  cen- 
tury there  was  no  recognition  be- 
tween the  Italian  and  Vatican 
authorities.  The  wound  was  too 
fresh  to  permit  of  any  rapproche- 
ment, even  in  an  entirely  unoffi- 
cial way.  The  most  illuminating 
evidence  as  to  the  position  at  that  time  is  afforded  by  the  refusal  of  the 
Italian  Government  to  guard  the  remains  of  Pius  IX  when  they  were 
brought  from  St.  Peter's  to  their  last  resting-place  in  San  Lorenzo.  The 
cotfm  of  the  great  Pontiff  very  narrowly  escaped  being  thrown  into  the 
Tiber  by  an  irresponsible  rabble.  A  change  has  since  taken  place,  for 
time  has  shown  that  an  interchange  of  information  between  the  Quiri- 
nal  and  the  Vatican  authorities  is  of  advantage  to  both.  All  communi- 
cations, however,  are  carried  on  through  non-official  agencies,  and  both 
parties,  while  preserving  unaltered  their  fundamental  attitude,  aim  at 
being  good  neighbors,  inasmuch  as  circumstances  forbid  them  to  be 
close  friends. 

In  maintaining  his  claim  to  the  temporal  power,  Pius  X  took  exactly 
the  same  position  as  Pius  IX  and  Leo  XIII.  The  passing  of  the  years 
has  not  altered  this  claim.  The  negotiations  for  a  reconciliation, 
twice  inaugurated  under  Leo  XIII,  came  to  naught,  and  no  attempt  to 
renew  them  was  made  by  Pius  X. 

Throughout  the  world  the  Pope  is  known  as  the  "Prisoner  of  the 
Vatican."  In  what  sense  is  this  term  to  be  interpreted?  The  actual 
foundation  for  the  expression  rests  on  the  fact  that  Pius  IX,  Leo  XIII, 
Pius  X  and  Benedict  XV  have  never  set  foot  outside  the  Vatican  and  its 
gardens.  As  Popes,  they  have  never  stood  on  Italian  soil.  There  exists 
thus  in  reality  a  "Vatican  Captivity";  of  that  there  can  be  no  doubt. 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  547 

But  what  is  the  legal  significance  of  this  attitude?  It  means  that  the 
entering  into  Italian  territory  could  scarcely  take  place  without  the 
recognition  of  some  of  the  conditions  created  on  September  20,  1870, 
and  this  recognition  has  been  withheld  by  each  successive  Pope. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  the  three  Popes  since  1870,  who,  having 
once  entered  the  Vatican,  never  afterwards  left  it,  have  found  life  in 
this  rich  and  glorious  palace  uniformly  agreeable  and  pleasant.  Even 
the  most  beautiful  palace  loses  its  charm  when  it  serves  as  a  setting 
for  a  lifelong  imprisonment.  Pius  IX,  Leo  XIII,  and  Pius  X  discov- 
ered how  bitter  it  was  to  have  one's  freedom  straitly  limited,  to  be 
for  ever  debarred  from  beholding  de  uisu  many  places  and  objects 
which  hold  for  one  a  special  interest.  As  they  have  stood  at  the  window 
of  their  apartments,  and  allowed  their  gaze  to  sweep  over  Rome,  a 
regretful  yearning  must  have  often  risen  within  their  breasts,  to  be 
smothered  only  by  a  prayer  of  resignation. 

Law  Courts. — In  the  extensive  dealings  which  the  household  admin- 
istration of  the  Apostolic  Palaces  necessarily  has  with  contractors  and 
purveyors,  and  upon  numerous  questions  of  equity  and  law,  some  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  and  disputes  cannot  but  arise.  Since  the  Vatican 
boards  cannot  be  cited  before  the  Italian  courts,  some  provision  had 
to  be  made  so  that  outside  parties  might  seek  and  find  justice  in  the 
Vatican.  Under  the  name  of  Commissions  of  Prelates,  courts  of  law 
have  been  established  "to  settle  all  disputes  with,  and  claims  against, 
the  Palatine  Administration."  The  Commission  of  the  first  instance 
and  of  the  second  instance  (court  of  appeals)  consists  of  three 
judges;  in  extraordinary  cases,  both  commissions  sit  together  under  the 
presidency  of  a  seventh  prelate  and  with  the  assistance  of  a  secretary. 
In  all  questions  of  law  the  Prefecture  of  the  Palace  has  a  special  coun- 
sel as  its  legal  representative.  Although  this  board  no  longer  has  a 
special  court,  it  still  retains  a  special  inquisitor,  who  practically  takes 
the  place  of  the  Court  of  the  Prefecture.  In  criminal  cases,  provided 
that  the  criminal  action  occurred  within  the  limits  of  the  palace,  this 
official  conducts  the  investigation,  establishes  the  facts,  and  then  hands 
the  accused,  together  with  the  official  report  of  the  case,  over  to  the 
Italian  authorities,  which  continue  the  criminal  proceedings  in  the 
usual  way. 

In  civil  disputes  the  procedure  is  as  follows:  The  case  is  begun  by 
lodging  written  complaints  with  the  Court;  within  an  appointed  period 
the  defendant  answers,  also  in  writing.  Further  replies  from  each  side 
are  then  permissible.  On  the  conclusion  of  these  written  explanations, 
or  after  the  lapse  of  the  appointed  interval,  which  has  come  to  an  end 
without  the  lodgment  of  further  papers,  the  decision  is  given  and  is, 


548  THE  VATICAN 

according  to  the  ancient  custom  of  the  Curia,  announced  on  placards 
hung  in  the  official  chamber.  A  six  months'  interval  from  the  date  of 
the  decision  is  allowed  for  an  appeal.  These  Courts  or  Commissions 
are  empowered  to  employ  every  means  of  arriving  at  a  knowledge  of 
the  facts,  such  as  the  summoning  of  witnesses,  the  administering  of 
oaths,  the  taking  of  corroborative  or  supplementary  evidence  on  oath, 
the  consulting  of  experts,  and  so  on.  The  legal  fees  are  regulated  ac- 
cording to  the  provisions  of  the  laws  of  the  Papal  States  in  1870.  The 
small  recourse  had  to  these  Commissions  shows  that  the  palace  boards 


Officers  of  the  Palatine  Guard 

make  it  a  rule  to  arrange  disputed  points  with  the  other  party  in  a 
friendly  way.  As  years  often  elapse  without  any  resort  being  had  to 
them,  these  Commissions  lead  a  very  quiet  existence. 

Medical  and  Hygienic  Boards. — In  so  far  as  the  medical,  sanitary,  and 
hygienic  service  of  the  Vatican  is  concerned,  the  following  details  may 
be  given.  Under  Leo  XIII  there  were  already  a  papal  physician  and 
surgeon  in  ordinary.  Pius  X  placed  things  on  a  somewhat  different 
footing  by  appointing  an  acting  and  a  consulting  physician.  The 
reader  will  remember  what  unselfish  devotion  was  shown  by  both  these 
physicians  when  the  Pope  was  desperately  ill  in  1912.  While  nothing 
could  be  more  honorable  than  this  attendance  on  Christ's  Vicegerent, 
the  duty  is  also  a  very  responsible  one.  And  it  is  doubly  responsible 
when  the  patient  can  be  persuaded  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  to 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  549 

obey  the  orders  of  his  physicians  and  to  abstain  entirely  from  work. 
Tact,  care,  and  energy  are  as  important  in  such  cases  as  medical  skill. 

The  general  sanitary  corps  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces  was  reorganized 
in  1893  and  placed  on  an  entirely  modern  footing.  This  corps  consists 
of  a  director,  five  physicians,  and  a  number  of  assistant  physicians. 
Two  of  the  physicians  are  assigned  to  day  and  two  to  night  duty.  The 
Swiss  Guards  are  attended  by  a  special  physician,  and  when  they  are  so 
sick  as  to  require  nursing  they  are  brought  to  the  Hospital  of  the  Swiss 
Sisters  of  the  Cross  in  the  Via  S.  Basilio.  The  assistant  physicians 
take  the  place  of  the  regular  physicians  when  some  obstacle  prevents 
the  attendance  of  the  latter.  Both  classes  of  physicians  have  to  appear 
at  all  great  functions,  when  they  occupy,  with  two  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
a  specially  erected  ambulance  station,  and  are  thus  on  the  spot  to  ren- 
der medical  aid  if  an  accident  of  any  kind  should  occur  among  the  vast 
throng  of  persons  assembled. 

This  College  of  Physicians  is  assisted  by  two  apothecaries,  who  must 
have  always  in  readiness,  especially  on  great  festivals,  the  necessary 
materials  to  render  relief.  These  apothecaries  conduct  a  public  phar- 
macy, which  was  formerly  situated  in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso,  but  is 
now  located  more  favorably  for  general  purposes  in  the  Torrione  di 
Niccolo  V.  Since  the  Vatican  pharmacy  distributes  medicines  to  every 
one  at  the  prices  fixed  by  the  Italian  Government  for  the  poor,  it  is 
extensively  availed  of.  The  apothecaries  belong  to  the  order  of  the 
Brothers  of  Mercy,  which  has  its  mother-house  in  Rome  on  the  Island 
of  the  Tiber.  The  apothecaries  proper  are  assisted  by  some  of  their 
brothers  in  religion,  since  the  business  of  the  pharmacy  is  extraordi- 
narily heavy.  When  the  Pope  is  sick  one  of  these  brothers  takes  full 
charge  of  the  nursing  of  the  patient,  and  is  responsible  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  physician's  orders.  In  the  pharmacy  hangs  a  list  of  the 
residents  of  the  palace,  who  are  entitled  to  free  medicines.  The  sanitary 
corps  and  the  pharmacy  are  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the 
Prefect  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces.  The  supervision  of  the  hygienic 
equipment  of  the  palace  is  in  the  hands  of  the  director  of  the  College 
of  Physicians,  who  is  assisted  in  the  matter  by  the  technical  boards  of 
the  Prefecture.  When  an  infectious  disease  breaks  out  in  Rome,  de- 
tailed instructions  are  prepared  for  the  administration  of  the  palace, 
with  a  view  to  obviating  as  far  as  possible  all  danger  of  the  disease 
being  brought  within  its  precincts.  The  plentiful  water  supply  and  the 
excellent  drainage  system  of  the  Vatican  have  rendered  this  danger 
very  remote. 

Department  of  Repairs.— The  architectural  repairing  of  this  huge 
mass  of  buildings  is  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  Prefect  of 


550 


THE  VATICAN 

7=) 


Oflicer  of  the  Papal  Gendarmes 


Marshal  of  the  Papal  ('■cmiarmes 


the  Apostolic  Palaces,  and  under  the  special  supervision  of  the  Foriere 
Maggiore,  to  whom  reference  has  been  already  made.  The  otTice  of 
Architect  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces  is  committed  to  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  profession,  whose  assistant,  known  as  the  Sotto-Foriere,  is 
also  a  trained  architect.  It  will  be  easily  understood  that  where  there 
are  so  many  roofs  and  walls,  only  the  most  careful  attention  can  guard 
against  serious  damage.  Throughout  the  year  this  department  is  busily 
engaged  keeping  everything  in  repair,  and  when  extensive  repairs  are 
undertaken  in  regular  succession  the  assistance  of  outside  workers  has 
to  be  requisitioned. 

Naturally,  one  of  the  duties  of  the  architectural  department  has  been 
to  prepare  various  plans  of  the  Vatican  Palace,  and  its  officers  feel 
always  incited  to  inquire  further  into  the  mysteries  of  the  buildings. 
But,  notwithstanding  all  their  past  inquiries,  it  still  happens  that  when- 
ever extensive  alterations  or  repairs  are  undertaken  they  stumble 
across  some  stairway  of  whose  existence  no  one  had  been  aware.  Con- 
sequently, however  exact  they  may  be  for  the  main  divisions  of  the 
palace,  none  of  the  plans  remains  for  long  entirely  reliable  in  all  ils 
details  regarding  the  portions  which  have  been  used  perhaps  for  cen- 
turies as  living-rooms  or  magazines,  or  perhaps  left  entirely  unoc- 
cupied. 

It  is  evident  that  the  architectural  care  of  the  Vatican  Palace  is  a 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION 


551 


very  difficult  task.  The  fact  that  not  a  single  serious  accident  has 
resulted  from  the  numberless  water-pipes,  the  more  recently  installed 
hot-water  pipes,  the  great  sewerage  system,  or  the  conduits  for  gas  and 
electricity  is  sufficient  proof  of  excellent  supervision.  In  a  modern 
palace  these  works  present  scarcely  any  difficulty;  but  in  an  ancient 
palace  like  the  Vatican,  planned  without  the  least  regard  for  these 
modern  requirements,  their  installation  and  maintenance  present  in- 
conceivable difficulties. 

Fire  Brigade. — Naturally,  the  Vatican  possesses  its  own  fire-brigade, 


Pupal  Cii-iuianiU's  in  Servict-  Unil'onn 

called  the  Guardia  del  Fuoco,  although  a  fire  is  one  of  the  rarest  occur- 
rences in  the  palace.  When,  a  few  years  ago,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the 
Manuscript  Clinic  of  the  Vatican  Library  as  a  result  of  the  spontaneous 
ignition  of  some  acids  and  other  chemicals,  the  chief  danger  was  that 
which  threatened  the  valuable  manuscripts.  With  a  great  effort,  how- 
ever, the  Guardia  del  Fuoco  succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  fire  after 
two  hours.  Had  an  equally  extensive  fire  broke  out  in  any  other  part 
of  the  palace,  the  same  trouble  would  of  course  have  been  taken  to 
extinguish  it,  but  it  would  not  have  caused  so  much  anxiety  as  was  felt 
by  the  Pope,  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  Librarian  during 
this  short  interval  on  account  of  the  unique  treasures  of  the  Library. 
Since  the  Guardia  del  Fuoco  has  little  or  nothing  to  do  at  its  proper 
calling,  the  members  of  the  brigade  are  called  upon  to  discharge  other 


552  THE  VATICAN 

duties;  but  the  fire-brigade  station  on  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  is,  of 
course,  never  completely  depleted  of  its  staff. 

Heating  System. — The  present  writer  remembers  well  the  time  when 
a  huge  copper  receptacle,  filled  with  blazing  coals,  stood  in  the  Sala 
Clementina.  Night  and  day  during  the  winter,  the  heat  which  radiated 
from  this  stove  had  to  suffice  for  the  picket  of  Guards  stationed  there, 
for  there  was  then  no  other  source  of  heat.  Conditions  were  the  same 
in  the  Anticamera  Bassa  and  the  most  important  of  the  reception  rooms. 
The  halls  were  not  arranged  for  any  well-ordered  system  of  heating. 
Often  has  the  writer  warmed  his  stiffened  fingers  at  the  stove  in  the 
Secret  Archives  before  he  could  resume  his  writing.  Throughout  the 
palace  ruled  the  ancient  and  primitive  methods  of  heating.  Foul  gases 
were  frequently  generated,  causing  a  dizziness,  if  not  a  violent  head- 
ache, to  every  one  present. 

That  some  method  of  heating  was  extensively  used  by  the  Curia  in 
the  earlier  centuries  is  clear  from  the  account-books  of  the  Apostolic 
Chamber.  But  at  that  period  the  windows  were  constructed,  not  of 
panes  of  glass,  but  of  waxed  white  linen.  With  the  introduction  of 
glass,  which  afforded  an  infinitely  better  protection  against  the  inclem- 
encies of  the  weather,  the  use  of  the  huge  fireplaces  seems  to  have 
ceased. 

However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  problem  of  heating  the 
Vatican  Palace  according  to  modern  methods  offered  unusual  difficul- 
ties. Under  Leo  XHI  the  question  was  first  considered,  and  was  then 
made  the  subject  of  long  and  careful  study.  Every  one  knows  that 
when  a  system  of  central  heating  is  installed,  the  heat  as  it  radiates 
upwards  is  very  liable  to  produce  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  black 
stripes  on  the  walls,  which  are  very  objectionable.  Again,  since  the  walls 
of  the  reception  rooms  are  hung  to  three-fourths  of  their  height  with 
damask,  while  the  other  fourth  is  covered  with  frescoes,  the  problem 
of  installing  the  system  became  doubly  difficult.  In  the  living-rooms 
of  the  Pope,  occupied  by  the  late  Cardinal  Bampolla  when  he  was 
Secretary  of  State  to  Leo  XIII,  the  task  was  far  easier. 

A  very  important  matter  connected  with  this  heating  problem  was 
the  inquiry  into  the  possible  benefit  or  injury  to  the  paintings  in  the 
Sistine  Chapel  if  this  were  heated.  With  the  use  of  the  earlier  heating 
methods  it  was  possible  to  raise  only  very  slightly  the  winter  tempera- 
ture of  the  Chapel.  The  Chapel,  however,  was  greatly  heated  during 
important  functions,  when  it  was  filled  with  a  great  crowd  of  persons 
and  a  huge  number  of  candles  were  lighted,  as  was  the  case  in  connec- 
tion with  comparatively  many  functions  before  1870.  This  sudden 
raising  of  the  temperature  of  the  Chapel  made  the  walls  sweat,  and  the 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  553 

fine  dust  raised  by  the  crowd  of  persons  present  and  the  smoke  from 
the  candles  settled  on  the  sweating"  walls.  In  the  course  of  the  centuries 
a  crust  was  thus  formed  on  the  mural  and  ceiling  paintings,  wdiich, 
while  it  could  not  destroy,  greatly  impaired  their  unrivalled  beauty. 
If  by  skilful,  regular,  and  uninterrupted  heating  one  could  succeed  in 


Residence  Erected  by  Pope  Pius  X  for  tlie  Vatican  Servants  and  Employes 

warming  the  walls  in  such  a  fashion  that  the  temperature  of  the  Chapel 
would  penetrate  deeper  and  arrest  the  cold  coming  from  outside,  it 
might  then  be  hoped  that  the  sweating  of  the  walls  would  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum  on  occasions  when  a  great  throng  of  people  assembled 
in  the  Chapel. 

These  considerations  led  to  a  decision  of  great  importance  in  the 
history  of  art — namely,  to  include  the  Sistine  Chapel  within  the  circuit 
of  the  first  central  heating  system  installed  in  the  Vatican  Palace.  And 
experience  has  shown  that  the  good  effects  that  were  hoped  for  have 
been  attained.  It  must  not  be  imagined,  however,  that  the  same  de- 
mands are  made  on  the  heating  plant  in  the  Vatican  as  are  made  on 
heating  plants  in  more  northern  climes.  Such  is  far  from  being  the 
case.  It  is  quite  sufficient — and  an  Italian  would  find  anything  more 
very  unpleasant — if  the  ordinary  winter  temperature  of  the  rooms  is 
raised  a  few  degrees.  The  inconveniences  and  damage  usually  caused 
by  central  heating  are  thus  reduced  to  the  minimum. 

After  the  installation  of  the  first  heating  plant,  the  system  was  ex- 


554  THE  VATICAN 

tended  in  the  following  years  to  other  portions  of  the  palace.  The 
Vatican  Library  and  the  Secret  Archives  were  given  their  own  plant, 
and  the  innovation  proved  especially  agreeable  in  the  Leonine  Hall  of 
the  Library,  since  in  winter  this  huge  room  was  always  swept  by  an 
icy  draft.  The  working  conditions  of  these  two  departments  are  now 
very  much  better  than  formerly,  for  which  readers  cannot  feel  too 
grateful. 

Lighting  and  Elevator  Service. — As  there  was  in  the  Vatican  Gar- 
dens great  water-power  to  be  harnessed,  the  Prefecture  of  the  Apostolic 
Palaces  had  an  electric  power-house  installed  to  provide  light  for  the 
whole  palace.  The  new  passenger  elevator  is  also  worked  by  elec- 
tricity, although  the  old  elevator  in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  is  still 
worked  by  water-power.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Pius  X  was  the  first 
Pontiff  to  use  a  modern  elevator  as  Pope.  On  August  5,  1903,  when  he 
was  returning  from  receiving  the  homage  of  the  Roman  prelates  in 
the  Sistine  Chapel  immediately  after  his  election,  he  waved  aside  the 
papal  chair  which  was  waiting  for  him  at  the  door  of  the  Chapel,  and 
proceeded  on  foot  through  the  Sala  Regia,  the  Sala  Ducale,  and  the 
Loggie  of  Giovanni  da  Udine.  On  reaching  the  entrance  of  the  elevator, 
he  directed  that  he  be  taken  up  from  the  ground  floor.  His  whole  escort 
stood  speechless;  such  a  thing  could  not  have  happened  under  Leo 
XIII,  who  could  never  have  pictured  a  Pope  using  an  elevator  to  over- 
come differences  in  altitude. 

It  has  just  been  said  that  Pius  X  is  the  first  Pope  who  used  a  modern 
elevator.  More  than  three  hundred  years  ago,  however,  there  was  a 
passenger  elevator  for  the  Popes — not,  indeed,  in  the  Vatican  Palace, 
but  in  the  Castel  S.  Angelo.  When  the  Popes  were  compelled  to  fly 
for  safety  to  the  strong  fortress  of  S.  Angelo,  as  was  frequently  the 
case  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  they  used  this  elevator.  It  was  very  small  and  narrow, 
uncomfortable  in  the  highest  degree,  and  was  naturally  worked  by 
hand.  Times  have  certainly  changed  greatly  since  the  days  of  Alex- 
ander VI  and  Clement  VII. 

Domestic  and  Clerical  Staffs. — There  is  a  vast  number  of  servants 
and  clerks  engaged  in  the  Vatican  Palace.  This  can  occasion  no  sur- 
prise when  we  remember  all  that  is  collected  together  into  a  compara- 
tively small  place.  Especially  worthy  of  mention  are  the  servants  of  the 
Pope,  known  as  the  Palafrenieri.  These  are  occupied  in  the  inner  corri- 
dor which  connects  the  working-room  of  the  Pope  with  the  staircase 
leading  to  the  story  above.  The  visitor  coming  to  an  audience  also  sees 
them  in  the  Anticamera  Bassa,  where  they  maintain  order,  receive  the 
invitations,  and  give  the  necessary  directions.    They  wear  a  dark-red 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  555 

Spanish  garb  with  knee-breeches.  On  the  uniform  may  be  seen  the 
arms  of  the  reigning  Pope  in  brocaded  velvet.  Lace  jabot,  red  silk 
stockings,  and  buckled  shoes  complete  the  handsome  uniform. 

Besides  their  private  staff  of  servants,  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State, 
the  Maestro  di  Camera,  and  the  Assistant  Prefect  of  the  Apostolic  Pal- 
aces have  also  clerks  and  servants  to  assist  them  in  their  official  capac- 


Corlilc  della  Stampcria  Niiova 

ity.  The  official  apartments  of  the  Secretariate  of  State  are  divided  into 
three  sections:  (1)  that  for  extraordinary  and  (2)  that  for  ordinary 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  tinally  (3)  that  for  Apostolic  Briefs.  As  may 
be  easily  imagined,  a  large  number  of  persons  are  employed  in  this 
department.  The  household  administration  of  the  Apostolic  Palaces 
also  demands  a  whole  staff  of  servants,  each  class  of  whom  is  recog- 
nized by  a  special  badge.  Again,  the  Picture  Gallery,  Museum,  Appar- 
tamento  Borgia,  Stanze  and  Loggie  of  Raphael,  Library,  Secret 
Archives,  and  all  the  other  dicasteries  of  the  Vatican  Palace,  need,  of 
course,  minor  functionaries  and  a  reasonable  number  of  servants. 

As  a  result  of  the  accumulation  of  the  official,  court,  scientific,  and 
artistic  interests  in  this  one  palace,  which  make  it  absolutely  unique 
in  the  world,  the  crowd  of  servants  is  much  greater  than  is  usual  in 
other  great  palaces  of  like  dimensions.  Those  of  the  servants  who  are 
entitled  to  free  lodging  in  the  palace  and  who  form  the  smaller  part 
of  the  staff,  were  long  given  temporary  accommodation  of  some  kind 


556  THE  VATICAN 

or  another,  with  the  promise  of  better  quarters  in  the  future.  And  there 
still  remained,  after  the  hurried  evacuation  of  the  Quirinal  Palace  in 
1870,  the  large  number  of  servants  who  had  resided  there,  and  for 
whom  quarters  had  to  be  found  in  the  Vatican  Palace. 

In  the  matter  of  accommodation  which  it  could  offer  to  families,  the 
Vatican  Palace  was  very  deficient.  With  this  dearth  of  quarters  Pius  X 
dealt  on  a  magnilicent  scale.  After  thoroughly  considering  the  matter, 
and  a  searching  investigation  into  the  question  of  expense,  he  gave 
orders  for  a  huge  building  to  be  erected  beside  the  new  Printing  Offices. 
This  building  has  been  already  referred  to.  Simple  but  solidly  con- 
structed, and  fitted  with  every  modern  hygienic  equipment,  it  will 
remain  a  glorious  memorial  to  the  solicitude  of  Pius  X  for  the  social 
w-elfare  of  the  servants  and  employes  of  the  Vatican. 

The  erection  of  the  building  enabled  the  Pope  to  attain  another  ob- 
ject. Since  the  large  majority  of  his  servants  are  married,  and  their 
quarters  were  formerly  distributed  over  various  portions  of  the  palace, 
all  the  staircases  of  the  palace  were  crowded  during  the  forenoon  with 
women  taking  their  children  to  school,  girls  going  shopping,  and  so  on. 
This  crowding  of  the  staircases,  which  was  then  unavoidable,  was 
regarded  by  the  Pope  as  most  unbecoming.  He  therefore  chose  the 
site  for  the  new  building  in  such  a  position  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  it  be  necessary  for  the  inmates  to  pass  through  the  palace  to 
communicate  with  the  city.  Intercourse  with  the  town  is  now  effected 
in  the  simplest  manner  through  the  door  on  the  Torrione  di  Niccolo  V, 
and  all  trooping  along  the  staircases  of  the  palace  has  come  to  an  end. 

It  may  be  added  here  that  the  removal  of  the  Picture  Gallery  from 
the  rooms  on  the  third  floor  in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  has  freed  the 
uppermost  Loggia  of  the  unceasing  stream  of  visitors  which  used  to 
extend  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  entrance  to  the  living-rooms 
of  the  Pope.  Furthermore,  the  scholars  who  work  in  the  Vatican 
Library  are  no  longer  compelled  to  pass  through  the  Appartamento 
Borgia  and  the  Gallery  of  Inscriptions,  but  have  now  a  more  convenient 
entrance  to  the  Library  from  the  Stradone  dei  Musei,  on  a  level  with 
the  street. 

The  whole  Sistine  portion  of  the  palace  and  the  stairways  leading 
to  it  are  now  freed  of  an  extensive  traffic  that  had  no  business  there. 
This  object  was  steadily  pursued  by  Pius  X  until  he  finally  attained  it— 
not,  however,  without  great  difficulties  and  expenses. 

The  Vatican  Press. — A  splendid  example  of  the  business  insight  and 
foresight  of  Pius  X  is  afforded  by  a  consideration  of  the  reorganization 
of  the  Vatican  Press  and  Private  Press.  For  the  full  appreciation  of 
this  reorganization,  it  will  be  necessary  to  delve  a  little  into  the  past. 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  557 

The  Sacred  Congregation  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  (S.  Con- 
gregatio  de  Propaganda  Fide,  known  briefly  as  the  Propaganda)  had 
from  the  year  1626  a  special  printing-oftice  in  which  were  gradually 
manufactured  the  alphabets  of  all  the  most  important  Asiatic  lan- 
guages, which  were  then  exceedingly  rare  and  thus  most  valuable.  For 
a  long  period  the  Polyglot  Press  of  the  Propaganda  was  the  most  re- 


Tlie  New  Vatican  Press 

nowned  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  Although  looted  under  Napoleon  I,  it 
soon  recovered,  and  in  the  time  of  Gregory  XVI  (1831-1846)  could 
still  print  in  fifty-five  languages — twenty-seven  European,  twenty-two 
Asiatic,  and  six  other  languages.  And  even  though  the  high  tide  of  the 
Polyglot  Press  had  then  passed,  it  could  still  lay  before  the  Fathers  of 
the  Vatican  Council  in  1870  the  Pater  Noster  in  two  hundred  and  fifty 
languages  and  dialects,  printed  w^ith  the  use  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
different  alphabets.  From  the  commercial  standpoint,  this  press  is 
to-day  of  scarcely  any  importance,  having  grown  to  be  almost  a  burden 
to  the  Propaganda.  This  fact  should  be  kept  in  mind  while  we  con- 
sider the  history  of  the  Vatican  Press. 

Pope  Sixtus  V  (1585-1590),  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  established 
at  great  expense  a  printing-office  that  was  for  that  period  entirely 
unique.  This  press  was  to  print  his  revised  edition  of  the  Latin  Bible. 
Sixtus  entrusted  its  direction  to  the  Venetian,  Domenico  Pasa,  and  ap- 
pointed a  special  commission  of  Cardinals  to  supervise  the  printing. 


558  THE  VATICAN 

In  1590  his  "Biblia  Sacra  Vulgatae  Editionis"  appeared  in  three  sump- 
tuous volumes,  which  were  for  various  reasons  withdrawn  immediately 
after  his  death.  In  1592,  1593,  and  1598  appeared  three  editions  of  the 
"Vulgata  Clementina,"  which  is  used  even  to-day.  Since  that  time  an 
exceedingly  large  number  of  works  of  the  most  varied  character  have 
issued  from  the  Vatican  Press.  In  the  course  of  time  the  most  impor- 
tant Oriental  alphabets  were  manufactured  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
pagan  missions  and  for  the  promotion  of  linguistic  studies,  although 
the  Typographia  Medicaea  (founded  by  the  Florentine  ruler  of  the 
house  of  Medici)  already  existed  in  Rome.  Inasmuch  as  the  Oriental 
alphabets  were  more  urgently  needed  by  the  later  instituted  Propa- 
ganda than  by  the  Vatican  Press,  the  Holy  See  assigned  these  alphabets 
to  the  former. 

In  connection  with  the  Vatican  Press,  which  at  first  served  for  purely 
scientific  and  literary  purposes,  there  soon  developed  a  Private  Press, 
in  which  were  printed  the  acts,  decrees,  instructions,  formularies,  and 
so  on,  used  by  the  Curia  in  the  discharge  of  its  official  business.  Though 
there  was  no  well-marked  division  at  first,  a  special  department  gradu- 
ally developed,  with  strict  secrecy  and  special  precautions  and  a  staff 
selected  only  from  employes  who  had  been  found  entirely  trustworthy. 

It  has  been  already  seen  that  the  small  court  situated  between  the 
Cortile  di  Belvedere  and  the  Cortile  delta  Pigna  is  known  as  the  Cortile 
della  Stamperia  (Court  of  the  Printing-press).  For  a  long  period  the 
Vatican  printing  office  adjoined  this  court  and  there  pursued  its  work 
peacefully  and  undisturbed.  So  long  as  all  work  was  done  by  hand- 
presses  and  the  business  continued  to  be  of  a  more  or  less  patriarchal 
character  this  condition  obtained.  But  when,  at  the  opening  of  the 
last  century,  the  modern  presses  began  to  find  wider  adoption  daily; 
and  when,  later,  the  firm  of  Konig  and  Bauer  of  Wiirzburg  introduced 
one  innovation  after  another;  and,  lastly,  when  American  inventors 
began  to  construct  huge  machines  which  could  do  in  one  hour  more 
than  the  old  presses  could  do  in  a  week,  the  Vatican  Press  had  to  keep 
pace  with  these  advances  or  to  resign  all  claim  to  importance.  Why 
reorganization  w^as  not  begun  immediately,  need  not  be  dwelt  on  here. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  lack  of  buildings  adapted  for  a  modern 
Press  presented  one  great  difficulty,  and  that  an  incomplete  appre- 
ciation of  the  importance  of  the  matter  left  the  Press  in  the  position 
of  a  stepchild.  Nothing  was  done  except  what  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  enable  the  Press  to  cope  with  current  demands. 

The  first  impulse  towards  the  reorganization  of  the  Press  was  an 
indirect  one,  being  given  by  the  Prefect  of  the  Vatican  Lil)rary,  Rev. 
Franz  Ehiie,  S.  J.    As  the  result  of  many  petitions,  the  rooms  adjoining 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  559 

the  Library  and  previously  occupied  by  the  Vatican  Press  were  placed 
at  his  disposal,  since  for  a  long  period  it  had  been  impossible  to  find 
space  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  ever-growing  Library.  But  before 
the  Prefect  of  the  Vatican  Library  could  enter  into  possession  of  his 
new  rooms,  another  location  had  to  be  found  for  the  Vatican  Press. 
And  since  his  inquiries  in  connection  with  the  reform  of  the  central 
administration  in  Rome  had  revealed  to  Pius  X  the  sorry  state  into 
which  the  Polyglot  Press  of  the  Propaganda  had  fallen,  he  resolved 


Cortik'  della  Stamperia  Vecchia 

to  cope  energetically  wdth  the  matter  once  and  for  all,  and  to  organize 
a  Press  which,  properly  equipped,  would  be  thoroughly  efficient  and, 
under  capable  management,  might  even  become  a  source  of  revenue 
to  the  Holy  See.  With  this  correct  appreciation  of  the  situation,  he 
decreed  as  follows:  (1)  The  Vatican  Press  was  to  consist  of  a  general 
and  a  private  section;  (2)  the  former  riding-school  of  the  Noble  Guard 
(Cavallerizza)  in  the  Torrione  di  Niccolo  V  was  to  be  reconstructed 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  afford  ample  and  proper  accommodation  for  an 
entirely  modern  printing-plant;  (3)  the  equipment  of  presses  and  type 
was  to  be  completed  so  that  the  Press  would  be  in  a  position  to  meet 
even  the  greatest  demands;  (4)  the  Propaganda  Press  was  abolished; 


560  THE  VATICAN 

(5)  its  whole  stock  of  type  (including  the  Oriental  alphabets)  was 
assigned  to  the  Vatican  Press;  (6)  in  view  of  the  amalgamation  of  the 
Vatican  and  Propaganda  Presses,  the  Press  was  to  be  known  thence- 
forth as  the  Tipografia  Poliglotta  Vaticana  (Vatican  Polyglot  Press). 
These  instructions  were  executed  without  delay,  and  thus,  thanks  to 
Pius  X,  a  new,  efficient,  and  well-conducted  Press  has  been  formed 
from  two  printing-plants  handicapped  by  antiquated  equipment  and 
other  defects. 

In  connection  with  the  reform  of  the  Curia,  the  Pope  established 
an  official  law  journal  for  the  whole  Church — the  "Acta  Apostolicie 
Sedis."  Almost  from  its  very  institution  more  than  ten  thousand  sub- 
scribers have  taken  this  periodical,  which  appears  in  stout  numbers 
twice  a  month.  A  periodical  of  this  nature  is  of  great  value  to  a  large 
printing  establishment,  because  it  affords  something  to  engage  the  staff 
steadily,  and  is  also  remunerative  on  account  of  the  great  number  of 
subscribers.  The  great  printing  orders  of  the  Roman  Congregations 
(formularies  and  so  forth),  which  were  formerly  placed  anywhere  by 
the  separate  bodies,  are  now  all  met  by  the  Vatican  Press,  and  are 
charged  by  the  general  administration  to  the  separate  Congregations. 
This  task  also  adds  greatly  to  the  current  business  of  the  Vatican  Press, 
and  contributes  very  greatly  to  the  consolidation  of  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  palace. 

It  is  not  possible  here  to  give  in  detail  the  various  activities  of  the 
Vatican  Press;  it  may,  however,  be  mentioned  that  a  large  number  of 
works — some  of  them  very  costly,  but  from  which  only  in  rare  cases 
do  the  returns  correspond  with  the  expenditure — must  be  undertaken 
to  meet  the  official  needs  of  the  Curia.  The  printing  of  the  new  Psalter 
will  serve  as  an  example.  Before  the  Holy  Father  and  the  Commission 
appointed  by  him  for  the  rearrangement  of  the  Psalter  gave  their  final 
Imprimatur  to  the  director  of  the  Vatican  Press,  "proofs"  of  the  text 
had  to  be  so  often  printed,  and  the  pages  rearranged  so  many  times, 
that  the  cost  of  this  comparatively  small  booklet  reached  a  huge  figure. 
Since,  however,  it  was  desired  to  attain  a  result  that  would  be  satis- 
factory from  every  standpoint,  it  was  not  possible  to  avoid  this  heavy 
expense.  The  great  sale  of  the  Vatican  edition,  which  still  continues 
undiminished,  may  perhaps  one  day  recoup  the  Vatican  Press  for  this 
outlay. 

From  the  general  publishing  department,  which  was  always  con- 
nected with  the  Vatican  Press,  have  issued  a  large  number  of  works, 
which  are  listed  together  with  all  new  works  in  a  recently  published 
catalogue.  No  accurate  list  of  all  the  books  issued  by  the  Vatican  Press 
since  1587  has  been  yet  published.    Were  such  a  catalogue  in  existence, 


THE  VATICAN  ADMINISTRATION  561 

it  would  serve  as  an  extraordinarily  valuable  contribution  to  the  his- 
tory of  culture.  From  the  inventory  of  books  for  sale  given  in  the 
above-named  catalogue,  we  may  choose  the  most  important  works  to 
give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  style  of  publications  issued. 

That  this  list  should  contain  a  large  number  of  official  editions  of 
the  Acts  and  Decrees  of  General,  National,  and  Provincial  Councils  was 
only  to  be  expected.  The  first  great  plan  of  Pius  X,  the  reform  of 
Church  music,  finds  clear  expression  in  the  "Graduate  Sacrosanctse 
Romanae  Ecclesiae  De  Tempore  et  De  Sanctis,"  published  in  1908,  and 
in  the  long  and  anxiously  expected  "Antiphonale  Sacrosanctse  Romanse 
Ecclesise  pro  diurnis  horis,"  which  was  published  in  large  octavo  in 
1912,  and  costs  unbound  eight  lire.  Among  the  large  number  of  publi- 
cations dealing  with  the  history  of  Rome  and  of  the  Church,  special 
mention  may  be  made  of  a  highly  important  work  by  Armellini,  "Le 
Chiese  di  Roma  dal  Secolo  IV  al  XIX,"  the  only  useful  history  yet  pub- 
lished on  the  churches  of  the  city  of  Rome.  Mention  may  also  be  made 
of  Calenzio's  great  work,  "La  Vita  e  gli  Scritti  del  Cardinale  Cesare 
Baronio,"  the  very  famous  "Nova  Patrum  Bibliotheca"  of  Cardinal 
Angelo  Mai,  Cristofori's  "Storia  delta  Marina  Pontificia,"  the  folio  edi- 
tion of  the  Registers  of  Popes  Honorius  III  and  Clement  V,  and  finally 
Denifle's  celebrated  specimen  plates  of  the  Registers  of  the  Popes  of 
the  thirteenth  century — "Specimina  Paloeographica  Regestorum  Ro- 
manorum  Pontificum  ab  Innocentio  III  ad  Urbanum  V."  In  addition  to 
editions  of  the  Martyrology,  there  are  works  on  Canon  Law  by  famous 
authors,  the  Acta  of  Leo  XIII  and  Pius  X,  the  well-known  Gande  edition 
of  the  "Theologia  Moralis"  of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori,  the  complete  set 
of  the  highlj^  important  series  of  "Dissertazioni  delta  Pontificia  Acca- 
demia  Romana  di  Archeologia,"  the  three  series  of  the  "Pubblicazioni 
delta  Specola  Vaticana,"  and  the  whole  series  of  the  "Studi  e  Docu- 
ment di  Storia  e  Diritto,"  which  offers  a  rich  mine  of  information  for 
the  history  of  Rome.  After  mentioning  the  Catalogues  of  the  Vatican 
Library,  of  which  eighteen  volumes  have  been  printed  and  four  are 
still  in  the  press,  we  believe  that  we  have  given  a  sufficiently  extensive 
survey  of  the  wide  publishing  activity  of  the  Vatican  Press  to  enable 
the  reader  to  complete  the  picture. 

The  Vatican  Polyglot  Press  issues  annually  a  stout  volume  under 
the  title  "Annuario  Pontificio."  It  is  described  as  an  official  publica- 
tion, and  is  published  by  the  Secretariate  of  State.  This  volume  may 
be  regarded  as  the  directory  of  the  Roman  Curia.  Annual  publications 
of  various  kinds,  giving  more  or  less  reliable  information  concerning 
the  Curia  and  Church  States,  were  issued  for  four  centuries  under 
different  names  and  partly  with  official  assistance  and  support.    The 


562  THE  VATICAN 

little  booklets  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  now  yellow 
with  age,  are  of  great  value  to  investigators  into  the  personnel  of  the 
Curial  administration  at  that  period. 

In  the  nineteenth  century  appeared  an  official  publication  called  the 
"Annuario  Pontificio."  This,  however,  ceased  in  the  year  1870,  after 
which  year  a  similar  but  more  private  publication  was  issued,  entitled 
"La  Gerarchia  Cattolica,  la  Cappella  e  la  Famiglia  Pontillcie  per  I'anno 

con  appendice  di  altre  notizie  riguardanti  la  Santa  Sede."    In  1899 

the  title  was  somewhat  altered,  and  the  words  "Edizione  ufhciale" 
added,  but  these  were  omitted  in  1905.  The  title  continued  to  vary 
until  1912,  when  the  old  title  "Annuario  Pontificio"  was  resumed  and 
the  information  given  in  the  volume  was  much  better  arranged  and 
greatly  increased.  This  annual  publication  supplies  the  reader  with 
information  concerning  the  Papal  Court  and  the  central  administra- 
tion of  the  Church.  Here  will  be  found  all  pertinent  information  con- 
cerning the  personnel  of  the  Vatican  and  a  good  quantity  of  facts, 
which,  however,  might  be  very  profitably  increased.  As  is  the  case 
with  all  manuals  of  this  kind,  this  publication  is  of  most  value  to 
persons  who,  through  other  sources,  already  possess  a  knowledge  of 
the  organization  with  which  it  deals.  For  information  concerning 
those  priests  who  have  received  an  honorary  title  from  the  Holy  See 
this  manual  is  important,  since  their  names  must  be  entered  therein. 
No  list  is  given  of  persons  on  whom  an  order  or  other  decoration  has 
been  conferred. 

The  long-standing  desire  that  this  official  directory  should  be  pub- 
lished in  Latin,  which  would  best  meet  general  needs,  has  not  yet  been 
realized.  The  publication  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda,  the 
"Missiones  Catholicae,"  is  issued  in  Latin;  and  what  is  possible  in  its 
case,  appealing  as  it  does  to  a  much  smaller  circle  of  readers,  is  surely 
possible  in  the  case  of  an  annual  of  a  much  more  general  appeal.  Since 
the  new  Editorial  Board  are  very  open  to  reasonable  suggestions,  we 
may  hope  that  the  decision  to  publish  the  "Annuario"  in  Latin  will  be 
soon  reached. 


DUE  DATE 


J.  1  199.- 

:     It-i    : 

Inted 
USA 


